GROWING concern

BRINGING SQUAD AVERAGE AGE DOWN WON'T BE AT EXPENSE OF EXPERIENCE

- By JOE THOMAS Everton FC Correspondent

VERTON'S summer business to date has showcased the dual ambitions of a club trying to chart a safe pathway to an exciting future.

Under Sean Dyche and David Moyes, the club regularly fielded one of the oldest starting elevens in the Premier League last season.

One of the challenges of this transfer window is to lay the foundation for the future while protecting the present.

The work undertaken since the final game of the season highlights how the club is attempting to deal with ambitions that can sometimes conflict.

Everton's first XI regularly featured a tranche of players over the age of 30 last season.

The starting lineup that won at Newcastle United on May 25 included Jordan Pickford, Michael Keane, Idrissa Gueye and Ashley Young. For much of the campaign, Abdoulaye Doucoure and James Tarkowski were in the first team, while Seamus Coleman was in the squad when fit.

While the inclusion of Young, then 39, and Gueye, at 35, pulled up the average age of Everton's starting lineup into the high 20s, the Blues' squad was in stark contrast to that of Chelsea.

While the Blues secured that win at St James' Park, Enzo Maresca's clinched Champions League football with a win at Nottingham Forest with a starting lineup that featured no player above the age of 27.

Bringing down the age of the Everton squad is an aim of the club's hierarchy and that has been clear in the undertones of the strategy of this summer so far.

That may not be immediately apparent given that Gueye, Keane and Coleman have all agreed new deals after beginning the summer on contracts set to expire.

But the context of each agreement matters. While there is a desire to drive down the average age of the squad it is not a mission that can be chased at all costs.