Defining summer for Chermiti as Moyes weighs up his options

A difficult day looked set to end in more frustration as Everton trailed Sligo Rovers 3-1.

- By JOE THOMAS

The game was a friendly, the first of preseason and essentially a fitness test built around the return of Seamus Coleman to the club where he rose to the Blues' attention.

But defeat still would have disappointed the hundreds that had crossed Ireland to follow Sean Dyche's side.

It looked like that would be the outcome until the intervention of Youssef Chermiti. The young forward bagged two late goals to salvage a draw hours after his club had been hit with news The Friedkin Group had pulled out of their first takeover bid.

It was a big moment for Chermiti, even if the match meant little in terms of preparations for the upcoming season.

The forward had endured a tough first season following his surprise arrival from Sporting Lisbon the previous summer. With Everton operating on a budget, splashing just over £10m on a teenage prospect felt a luxury the club may not have been able to afford at the start of the 2023/24 season.

Over that campaign he ended up caught in a tough spot. Dyche's squad was too small to allow him to leave on loan, with offers for his services made that January. But Chermiti was considered too raw for the Blues boss to use in the cut and thrust of what became another relegation fight after the club was hit with two points deductions for spending breaches. Dyche admitted it was a tough situation to wrestle.