Garner deal has to be the next priority

ARRAD Branthwaite, James Tarkowski and now Jordan Pickford. All done. Next in line should be James Garner.

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One of the biggest challenges of a complicated summer for David Moyes and those around him was the sheer number of decisions that needed to be made over contracts.

The workload was a legacy of the final stages of the Farhad Moshiri era, a period that ended with survival being the priority. In those circumstances, forward planning was tough.

The consequence of leaving so many deals to expire at the same time was that a summer of transition began slowly as the futures of players from Dominic Calvert-Lewin to Seamus Coleman and Idrissa Gueye were resolved.

There will be an element of that next summer too, with some of the more senior players - including Coleman, Gueye and Michael Keane - having initially extended terms by 12 months.

But by then, Moyes and The Friedkin Group's leadership team will be well established and the extent of the squad overhaul needed at the end of this season will not be as severe.