Everton players will report back to Finch Farm for pre-season later this month.
Some Everton first-teamers will arrive a bit later if they’ve been in action at the World Cup in America this summer.
The first warm-up game is on Saturday, the 18th of July, as the Toffees take on Scottish side Dundee FC at 2pm.
- 18th July – Dundee FC
- 25th July – Bolton Wanderers
- 28th July – Stoke City
- 1st August – Hamburger SV
- 8th August – VPB Stuttgart
Ahead of pre-season getting underway, we’ve picked out two key things David Moyes should work on tactically to improve the side.
Moyes must work on Hayden Hackney’s relationship with forwards
Everton’s first signing of the summer was Hayden Hackney, who has joined in a £16m deal from Middlesbrough.
Hackney was the Championship’s Player of the Season last year as he made significant contributions going forward and defensively.
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Moyes and his chiefs have likely brought him in to add a bit of poise to the Toffees’ midfield and break the lines a bit better than the current options.
The former England under-21 international created a staggering 83 chances last term, so it’s imperative that he develops a relationship with the likes of Beto, Ndiaye and the other forwards.
They must all be on the same wavelength so that Hackney can slide through and clip over incisive passes.
Adam Aznou simply has to be bedded in
Everton appear to be in the market for a right-back, a centre-forward and another wide player, with Jack Grealish potentially staying at Manchester City.
So, it’s unlikely that a left-back comes in, meaning Vitalii Mykolenko will once again be the first-choice after his contract extension.
Mykolenko is solid defensively but doesn’t provide nearly enough quality going forward, as he’s laid on just four assists in 158 appearances.
That said, Moyes must work closely with Adam Aznou in pre-season to get him up to speed and ready to provide genuine competition to the Ukraine international.
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Aznou, who arrived in an £8m deal from Bayern Munich last year, is still awaiting his Premier League debut.
The Toffees boss clearly wasn’t happy with an aspect of his game in training, so now is the time to address that and ensure that he is ready to play on a regular basis going forward.
The talent is clearly there, and the 20-year-old will have matured a lot over the last 12 months.
Let’s hope Aznou has a strong pre-season and gets his breakthrough in the first team in the 2026/27 campaign.
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