Time for Blues to ATTACK the market

PART TWO OF THE BLUES' END-OF-SEASON SQUAD STOCK TAKE

- By JOE THOMAS

EVERTON start a busy summer with a lot of work to do.

The Blues ended the season on a high, with three consecutive wins cement-ing the club in 13th place and capping off a sensational turn-around from the relegation fight David Moyes inherited in January.

He wants Everton to be looking up the table, not down it, but that will be no easy feat given the extent of the job at hand.

The club finished the campaign with 15 players on expiring deals and Moyes will have to work hard to craft a squad capable of dealing with the threat from below - Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United will be expected to improve dramatically next season - while playing catch-up to the sides that finished above Everton.

The first priority is to finalise which of the many out of contract players will be offered new deals a process that remains ongoing.

Another is to appoint the final members of the club's new-look recruitment team.

With Everton desperate to exploit the potential this summer offers, this is the state of play.

Central Midfield

Idrissa Gueye was the most impressive performer during the second half of the season and his influence belied his age.

He is out of contract but he is one of the players whose future is being actively discussed and the 35-year-old showed few signs of dropping off as he continued to operate relentlessly in the middle.

With the departure of Abdoulaye Doucoure, a player whose importance was undeniable across recent seasons, the loss of Gueye would leave a gaping hole in a midfield Moyes already wanted to improve.

Should the Senegal international remain, there will still be efforts to create the midfield of the future around him given his age.