Almost every Premier League team has been strengthening their respective squads ahead of the new campaign, whether that is the top teams or even the newly-promoted sides. They had shortlists for their transfer targets and deals are coming thick and fast, as the window is set to close in just over a week's time on August 8.
Everton is one team where the club already have a good first-team squad to choose from, though they could do with some improvements too.
They already completed a deal to sign Watford forward Richarlison for £40m last week and are on the verge of another deal, to sign Barcelona fullback Lucas Digne. By all means, this deal means more to the club and their fans than the Richarlison one - here is why:
Everton are luring a player who big clubs do not want to sell
Everton have bought good players from big clubs in recent times, but all those players were the ones whom the big clubs wanted to sell or get rid off as quickly as possible. They have signed good players from big clubs in recent seasons, but for a specific reason - they were made surplus to requirements there, and the Toffees benefited from this.
In the past few seasons, they have completed deals to sign the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Gerard Deulofeu and Morgan Schneiderlin from Chelsea, Barcelona and Manchester United respectively. The selling clubs were happy to let them leave, or at least on loan deals, at the time.
In the case of Digne though, there's something different. Barcelona were happy for him to continue challenging Jordi Alba as their first-choice left-back, but the player himself was no longer content in such a role.
Having been omitted from Didier Deschamps' final 23-man World Cup squad, he wanted to leave. He missed out on a place in France's squad, namely because he wasn't playing regularly - so this deal is likely to give Everton's project under Marco Silva some serious outlook while convincing other top players to consider joining him at Goodison Park.
Digne deal could convince Pickford to stay
First-choice goalkeeper Jordan Pickford is a wanted man, after an excellent string of performances for England at the World Cup in Russia. Speculation suggests Chelsea are lining up an audacious bid to sign the former Sunderland man, should Thibaut Courtois complete a move to Real Madrid in the coming days.
Everton are trying to build a team for years to come and for that, you need a good core group of players - a clear spine of the team. Pickford is the pivotal, reliable element which forms said spine, so naturally they must do all it takes to retain him.
Everyone wants an incentive to resist offers from big clubs and Digne's impending arrival may be precisely that. They have made an impressive signal of intent that they are serious about improving with time and also proved they can lure players from some of the world's biggest clubs - so why not stay?