£8m player receives rival offer after Everton start showing interest in him

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Despite having made business that had left the bulk of their fanbase delighted, Everton are still so far from where they want to be.

However, Sean Dyche and Kevin Thelwell would have been well aware that this process would not be a swift one, and so as long as they keep making minor steps forward whilst avoiding relegation from the Premier League, they will remain content.

Adding to their threadbare frontline whilst bolstering the midfield and at centre-back, this has been a transfer window of huge change compared to previous years.

And yet, despite having reinvested the bulk of the Amadou Onana money, there still remains a little leftover, and there also remains plenty of glaring deficiencies within the squad that need plugging.

Everton face rival interest for Alisson Santana

One such position is at right-back, and after last Saturday’s disaster, which resulted in Ashley Young’s sending-off, that area has been made even more bare than before.

Seamus Coleman is ageing and often injured, whilst Nathan Patterson is another who cannot stay fit. Yet, even when he is available, Dyche always prefers experience over the young Scotsman.

Meanwhile, James Garner represents a worst-case scenario option for the role, who could deputise but would be preferred not to. None will be available for this weekend’s trip to Tottenham Hotspur.

So, that explains the scramble to secure a successor, with GOAL Brazil, via Sport Witness, offering a fresh update on Everton’s interest in Alisson Santana.

Despite the reported €60m release clause, it’s now been noted that far less will be needed to pry this attack-minded teenager from his homeland, who has played up front, on the wing and at right-back.

The report reads: ‘At the moment they are not publicly defining a value for the player or making it clear how much a departure would cost. However, they have made it clear negotiations will have to start at €10m according to GOAL’s information.

‘People close to the striker are insisting that Atlético-MG have a formal proposal on the table. The club’s management, though, are denying that and insisting there is no official offer for now.’

What other positions do Everton still need to strengthen this summer?

Whilst right-back has been a position of peril for some time, which makes the club’s inability to find a replacement even more frustrating, it is not the only area that needs bolstering before the window slams shut.

After all, for all the success they had in the midfield in spells, with Sean Dyche praising Tim Iroegbunam, Idrissa Gana Gueye proved himself unreliable in possession once again.

They need a holding midfielder to screen the back four, and a backup for Vitaliy Mykolenko at left-back would not go amiss either.

One final winger would also be much welcomed, given the lack of dynamism and raw pace that Dwight McNeil and Jack Harrison boast.