Key stat vindicates Dyche tactics but casts doubt on Everton transfers

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Everton have generated the second-highest expected goals (xG) figure in the Premier League so far this season.

According to StatsBomb, reporting their figures on Twitter, Everton have recorded a combined xG total of 16.49 goals across their eight Premier League matches so far this season. 

This means that, based on the quality and quantity of the goalscoring opportunities that the Toffees have created, they ought to have scored 16/17 goals.

Only one Premier League team has managed to produce a higher xG rating.

However, in reality, the Merseyside outfit have only found the back of the net nine times in the Premier League so far this season.

This tells us two things. First, Sean Dyche’s tactics are working. He is setting his team up, and organising them in such a way that they are creating plenty of presentable opportunities for themselves. It would be hard to blame the manager for his forwards’ wayward finishing. 

From a tactical perspective, Dyche is clearly on the right track.

Dyche summer spending in question

However, this stat also calls into question much of the transfer business that Everton conducted in the recent summer window. Dyche put a great emphasis on bolstering his attacking options in the summer, with Arnaut Danjuma, Jack Harrison, Beto, and Youssef Chermiti all arriving at Goodison Park. 

Between them, this quartet have managed 17 Premier League appearances and have bagged just two goals so far. Harrison and Danjuma have each netted once.

Meanwhile, the Toffees’ top scorer is Abdoulaye Doucoure, who has racked up three goals so far. Dominic Calvert-Lewin has also chipped in with two having made just five appearances. Both players were on the books at Everton last season.

It is early in the season, so there is still plenty of time for the newer players to settle in and improve. They will also have contributed to Everton’s impressive creativity. However, as things stand, Dyche’s attaching acquisitions aren’t firing on all cylinders and are undermining his tactical progress.