Everton did little to improve their first-team ranks in the summer transfer window as Rafa Benitez was given a shoestring budget with which to work.
Five new faces arrived but only one of them cost the Toffees a direct transfer fee.
What’s the word?
With that in mind, the Merseyside outfit should probably take on any help they can get in terms of recruitment.
Despite not spending a lot in the last few months, they have actually enjoyed a good start to the new campaign, with summer signings Andros Townsend and Demarai Gray scoring three goals each.
Other areas certainly still need improving, however.
One player who has been linked with a move to Goodison Park is Serge Aurier. The Ivorian is a free agent after leaving Tottenham by mutual consent but fresh reports from the Liverpool Echo have quashed rumours of a move.
They claimed that the 28-year-old has been discussed but the Toffees are not actively pursuing a deal at the moment.
Go get him
With Everton lacking the financial firepower to take on the Premier League’s elite, signing players like Aurier would be shrewd business.
The right-back has been described as “uncoachable” by sources close to Spurs staff but the Toffees lack any form of depth at full-back.
They only have one senior left-back in Lucas Digne, while Seamus Coleman is their only true option on the opposite side.
That being said, the Irishman’s contract expires in two years' time, and at the age of 32, he is getting no younger.
He has also been injured this term and is set to miss the next two to three weeks of action. Ben Godfrey has deputised unsuccessfully, but if he doesn’t play, they’d have to rely on Jonjoe Kenny.
The English defender was once tipped for a vibrant future after being nominated for the Rookie of the Year award following his spell on loan at Schalke 04.
Sadly, his career has waned since that moment. He spent the second half of 2020/21 on loan at Celtic, where he was simply disastrous.
Kenny offered plenty going forward but made a plethora of mistakes across multiple Old Firm derbies. His performances were so bad that the £5.2m-rated dud was described as a “horror show” by the cast of ACSOM.
The 24-year-old is yet to respond to his critics since returning to Finch Farm, but Benitez could finally axe him by bringing Aurier to the club.
The former Spurs man is hardly a pillar of reliability himself but he does at least have plenty of Premier League, continental and international experience under his belt.