Everton made nine new signings over the summer and there are lots of positives to be drawn from the business they completed in the transfer window.

Conor Coady and James Tarkowski have been standout performers, as their centre-back partnership has flourished and improved the quality of the defensive performances the Toffees have put on over their 11 Premier League outings.

Everton have the joint fourth-best defensive record in the division (12), but they also have the fourth fewest goals scored (eight), and the team's goal-shy approach to their games has now left them just one point off the relegation zone.

Despite Dominic Calvert-Lewin returning from injury alongside the signing of Neal Maupay this summer, the Merseysiders didn't replace Richarlison's goal threat. As a result, they are scoring 0.7 goals per match this term compared to 1.1 per game last season.

Frank Lampard will surely be looking ahead to the January transfer window to identify a striker who can improve the creativity and goal contributions in the team, and Everton may get a second chance on one of their biggest summer transfer targets.

It has been reported by TuttoMercatoWeb this week that Chelsea's young striker Armando Broja is not in the thoughts of Graham Potter and could force a move away from the west London club as early as the January transfer window in search of regular first-team football.

This news will surely grab the attention of the Everton boss, who is a huge admirer of the Albanian centre-forward, so much so that Lampard gave Broja his Premier League debut whilst managing Chelsea in 2020.

The 44-year-old sang the player's praises when Everton came up against Southampton, where Broja was on loan, last season: "He's fast, strong, has an eye for a goal. A very good player."

The €70m (£57.8m)-valued striker, who was dubbed "unstoppable" by journalist Nizaar Kinsella, scored nine goals and delivered one assist during his loan spell with the Saints last season and has since been given the opportunity to earn his place in the team at Stamford Bridge following Romelu Lukaku's loan departure.

Broja hasn't been given much game-time to build up a run of form for the Blues, averaging just 22 minutes per game across eight appearances, but he has scored one goal, won the majority of his duels (57%) and successfully completed the majority of his dribbles (57%) so far this term.

The player's possible desperation for first-team football could be Lampard's leverage in convincing the Albanian to make the move to Goodison Park in the second half of the season, as there is no doubt that the Toffees manager will want to improve the attacking threat in the team when the transfer window re-opens.