Now that Everton have secured safety in the Premier League they can focus on improving the squad this summer to avoid a similar situation next season, and they are wasting no time in identifying their transfer targets.

What's the latest?

According to MLS football journalist Larry Henry Jr, Everton have joined the race to sign Tottenham Hotspurs defender and current Celtic loanee Cameron Carter-Vickers.

Henry Jr tweeted:

"Everton and Fulham are in the race for Cameron Carter-Vickers, should Celtic not agree to a transfer with Tottenham prior to June 12, a source close to the player confirmed. CCV heading to June USMNT camp and coming off two trophy haul with Celtic this season."

Lampard needs him

There is no doubt that improvement and changes will be made at Goodison Park this summer as Everton narrowly missed relegation from the Premier League this season, and one area that has come under harsh criticism is the defence.

Jamie Carragher dubbed the Toffees' backline a "Championship back four" a few months ago after a humiliating 5-0 loss to Spurs, with the side conceding the fifth most goals in the league out of 20 teams during the 2021/22 campaign, something they must improve upon next season.

Carter-Vickers who was hailed "solid as a rock" by pundit Simon Donnelly, has been impressing at Celtic on loan and his impact has led the team to their Scottish Premiership title win this season and the defensive qualities he has displayed prove that Lampard needs him.

According to SofaScore, the £10m centre-back has scored three goals and contributed one assist, making an astonishing 99.5 touches, 1.2 interceptions and 4.1 clearances on average per game as well as winning the majority of his duels (68%) and successfully completing an overwhelming amount of his dribbles (86%) in 33 league appearances.

When you consider these statistics the American native is clearly a huge threat both dominating defensively and offering a great attacking output too, something that would be highly valued at Everton if Lampard could secure the signing this summer.

However, it has been reported that Celtic have managed to agree on personal terms for a permanent deal with the player so Farhad Moshiri will need to work fast if he wants to hijack the deal before they lose out to the Scottish Champions.

AND in other news: Forget Iwobi: Everton's "waste of space" who made just 6 passes today has got to go