Everton FC correspondent Joe Thomas looks back on a dramatic summer on and off the pitch for the club

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Eight signings, the sale of a club icon and the protection of an academy graduate whose star shines so brightly Frank Lampard views him among the most talented young players in world football.

A rumoured takeover, an injury crisis and a rebuild hampered by financial regulations. Two open letters, four new captains and five games without a trusted striker. The rise of a new waterfront landmark set to dominate the banks of the River Mersey.

Wherever you start your analysis of Everton’s summer, there is one conclusion you cannot fail to reach: It has been three chaotic months with drama both on and off the pitch.

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On the football side, the turning point came on a hot night in the north of the USA, just a few miles from the Mississippi River. It had been hoped the final hours of the pre-season tour would see a confidence-boosting performance tinged with happy nostalgia as the Blues re-united with club hero Adrian Heath. Instead, Heath’s Minnesota United dismantled their Premier League opponents. The 4-0 defeat cast a shadow over what had, until then, been a positive trip.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin, his last campaign ruined by injuries, had returned for pre-season in impressive shape and looked good at the high school campus near Washington DC that became the club’s training hub. There, the players worked hard and bonded well. Spirits were high, with fan events showcasing how passion for the Blues extended across the Atlantic.

When Everton lost 2-0 to Arsenal in nearby Baltimore there were mitigating factors - the Gunners were further advanced in their pre-season while the second half highlighted the talent and confidence of several Everton teenagers and the willingness to protect them displayed by new signing James Tarkowski. But the 90 horrible minutes that unfolded at Minnesota United’s Allianz Field days later left Frank Lampard shell-shocked. The MLS side exposed vulnerabilities many hoped had been left behind in the toxic, turbulent depths of the relegation battle Everton had just survived. Problems while defending set pieces, the fragility of playing four at the back and the lack of a controlling influence in the centre of midfield all returned in a performance which highlighted serious work was needed to make Everton competitive.

The most glaring issue was the side’s attacking limitations. Such was his frustration at the performance, Lampard’s only interview following the game in St Paul was to the club’s own media. He did not hold back, even to them: “The players have to work and understand we were in a relegation battle for a big portion of last season”, he said. "We had an amazing night [against Crystal Palace] and an amazing run…but, as soon as that finished, I put it to bed very quickly, so the players have to put it to bed as well, because we were in that fight for a reason. And if we don’t want to be in that situation again, they have to be better and I have to be better.”

The week before that game the majority shareholder, Farhad Moshiri, had issued his second open letter of the summer. Addressing weeks of rumours Everton were to be the subject of a takeover, he stressed the club “is not for sale”. And he added: “My commitment to the club remains strong and focused and [director of football] Kevin Thelwell and the chairman [Bill Kenwright] are currently working hard to bring in new players to improve Frank Lampard’s squad. There will be new signings and I would ask supporters to judge us at the end of the transfer window.”

It was pertinent that, days after that plea, Lampard said following the Minnesota United humbling: “There is no doubt about it. When you think of where we were last year, we have lost a big player in Richarlison… we wish him well, but our club now continues. We know there is a void in forward areas, we are short in numbers there. Also, through the team, there are things I want to strengthen, and I can be honest about that, because a club like Everton has to have a competitive squad.”

The defeat to Minnesota United changed the narrative of the summer. It ended the talk of the heroic comeback against Palace and sharpened focus on the final month of the transfer window. Any hope June’s summer break, and the physical and psychological respite it offered, would automatically lead to an improvement in the club’s fortunes was dispelled.

The two storylines of the transfer window before the trip to the US had been the future of Richarlison, sold to Tottenham Hotspur in a £60m package just before the next financial accounts deadline, and the pursuit of Tarkowski. Even while Everton’s top flight status remained in peril, Lampard’s key ambition for the transfer window had been clear - to make a side decimated by injuries, particularly at centre back, more robust. Tarkowski, with more than 30 Premier League appearances in each of his previous five campaigns with Burnley, was an obvious solution and one he managed to get over the line in Everton’s only piece of early business. That he was available on a free only made a move for the 29-year-old more compelling.

Everton’s financial situation dictated the club’s approach to business in the early weeks of the summer. Richarlison’s sale appeared, partly, to be designed to address profit and sustainability pressures in the latest set of accounts. While the club was adamant it did not need to sell to buy, pragmatism was the watchword for summer business that started with Fabian Delph, Jonjoe Kenny, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Cenk Tosun leaving the club following the expiration of their contracts, though Kenny rejected an extension in favour of a new challenge in Germany. With loan signing Donny van de Beek returning to Manchester United those outgoings saved the club roughly £400,000-a-week.

The need for pragmatism featured prominently in the supporter update issued by chief executive Denise Barrett-Baxendale in late July, just after the completion of the loan deal for Ruben Vinagre from Sporting, and the purchase of Dwight McNeil from Burnley.

Prof Barrett-Baxendale told supporters : “[Thelwell and Lampard] are working diligently with support from our chairman to further strengthen the playing ranks of our men’s squad, operating within a clear financial structure and with appropriate pragmatism. And, in terms of pragmatism, whilst we were all sad to see Richarlison leave, we secured a good transfer fee in the context of the current market for a player who felt it was the right time to seek a new adventure.

“We understand the disappointment felt by so many Evertonians, but it is also important that - as our majority shareholder has made clear, and as the implementation of our strategic review serves to prove - we demonstrate the learnings from previous transfer windows have been heeded and we trade smartly to maintain a sustainable squad development model.”

The next day, Everton beat Dynamo Kyiv in the club’s last friendly and the issues exposed by Minnesota felt distant. Calvert-Lewin scored and looked in impressive shape, McNeil came on and hit two goals in front of the Gwladys Street end in an exciting cameo that silenced critics who had, following his move to Merseyside, pointed to his failure to score last season, and Dele Alli looked promising after his brace at Blackpool days earlier.

In the next week, disaster struck. Calvert-Lewin suffered what Lampard described as a “freak” knee injury that wrecked the club’s preparations for the new campaign. The 25-year-old had inspired so much hope in pre-season that Everton appeared confident they could initially focus on improving the defence and midfield. Calvert-Lewin’s injury, combined with the sale of Richarlison, left Salomon Rondon as the only fit, recognised striker at the club who would be available for the first games of the season. Even then, the Venezuela international was suspended for the game against Chelsea after his red card against Brentford at the end of last season.

The other major development that week was the move for Amadou Onana. With West Ham United on the brink of a deal for the centre midfielder, Everton swooped and secured an agreement with Lille worth in excess of £30m. While it was known the club had tracked Onana the move came as a shock as it appeared to represent a departure from the ‘pragmatic’ approach that had been a theme of the window to date.

Thelwell hailed the then 20-year-old as “one of the most sought-after young midfielders in Europe” and his signing sparked excitement that hit a new level when he emerged in the Goodison Park stands just before half-time against Chelsea. Onana, who captained the Belgian Under-21 side, made his debut at Aston Villa the following Saturday and showcased impressive maturity and talent as he rebounded from a mistake in the build-up to Villa’s second goal by creating the Lucas Digne own goal that brought the away side back into the match.

While the Onana deal was carefully structured, the amount of money involved suggested Everton did have scope to spend in the remaining weeks of the summer - fuelling hope a striker could be found to strengthen Lampard’s attacking hand.

With Ben Godfrey and Yerry Mina suffering serious injuries in the narrow defeat to Chelsea, Lampard and Thelwell’s decision to build from the back appeared partially justified. Their absence could have caused a crisis. Instead, it was covered through the signing of Tarkowski and the pending deal to bring Conor Coady to the club. Talks with the former Wolverhampton Wanderers captain had started before the Chelsea match but became more pressing in its aftermath and a deal was quickly secured for the Merseyside-born England international.

As a result, Everton have been solid in the opening weeks of the campaign, But the lack of a back-up forward has left them toothless. Big chances were missed against Chelsea and Villa, while a proven goalscorer could have helped the club secure a first win of the season in the game against Nottingham Forest. That 1-1 draw best highlighted the size of the challenge facing Lampard and Thelwell this transfer window. With the game level at 0-0, Forest boss Steve Cooper was able to turn to a bench featuring tens of millions of pounds of new signings - including Morgan Gibbs-White, who Everton sought to beat Forest to at the final moments of the deal. When the away side took the lead the goal had been coming and, despite creating 19 chances, Everton needed a late Demarai Gray goal to escape with a point.

While Everton sought to fill the attacking “void” identified by Lampard after the Minnesota United defeat, retaining academy starlet Anthony Gordon became the club’s biggest priority. Interest from Spurs and Newcastle United had been rebuffed early in the summer but Chelsea’s pursuit of the 21-year-old came with an official £45m bid. That was rejected and Lampard stood firm. While Leicester City player Wesley Fofana missed games amid interest from Stamford Bridge, Gordon stepped up his performances. As critics questioned Chelsea’s valuation of an attacking player who scored four times in his breakthrough league campaign, the England U21 international added his first goals of this season with crucial strikes against Brentford and Leeds United.

For Lampard, who secured a move to Chelsea at the age of 22 after rising through the ranks at West Ham, there was never any doubt he could trust Gordon amid the speculation: “If I felt he wasn’t right I wouldn’t put him in that situation and if I felt he didn’t want it or didn’t want to train or play for this club, it would be an entirely different conversation and not such a good one so I think it shows you how he is dealing with it”, he said before the Brentford game.

He continued: “It is not easy, we are all human and as much as he loves this club, I think in the cold light of day everyone would understand these things would give a young man a lot to think about, to say the least, but he is made of strong stuff and I am there to support him, which is the most important thing, so he is in the squad, he travels south with us.”

In that same press conference, Lampard confirmed a forward would be joining the Blues and hours after those comments the arrival of Neal Maupay from Brighton and Hove Albion was announced. Maupay was not registered in time to face Brentford and instead spent the matchday training at Finch Farm in anticipation of featuring in the squad for the game at Leeds United. Much to Lampard’s annoyance it emerged - only after preparations were advanced for the trip to Elland Road - Maupay had not been registered in time for selection due to the Bank Holiday Monday not being considered an official working day for the Premier League.

He will be available for the Merseyside derby but no additional forward will be alongside him after Everton, despite late efforts that included discussions over Blackburn Rovers’ Ben Brereton-Diaz, were unable to secure an additional striker. Everton’s predicament was worsened by the reluctance of Lampard to turn to Dele Alli at the beginning of the season. Dele, particularly after his promising brace at Blackpool, was the most obvious choice to spearhead the attack against Chelsea. Instead, Gordon played the ‘false nine’ while the 26-year-old sat on the bench. It was a damning indictment of how Lampard viewed a player who had once led his former club to a Champions League final and his country to a World Cup semi-final.

Signing Dele on the winter transfer deadline day had been a gamble and one it could be argued paid off following his key contributions to vital goals against Leicester and Palace. But when, seven games away from the first payment for Dele being triggered, it emerged Besiktas were interested in him, it was no surprise he was allowed to leave on loan. Dele was one of several central midfielders deemed surplus to requirements and Jean-Philippe Gbamin has since followed him to Turkey, signing a loan deal with Trabzonspor, while Andre Gomes will play at Lille for the remainder of the season after he was allowed to leave on similar terms.

A busy deadline day saw Everton’s incoming business concluded with late deals to secure the return of Idrissa Gueye from Paris Saint-Germain for a fee of around £2m and then a £9m move for James Garner from Manchester United. Those moves significantly improved the spine of an Everton squad reinforced with three defenders and three central midfielders this summer. They also showcase the dual strategy of Lampard and Thelwell, who have sought to bring in experienced Premier League players who strengthen the first team for this season and promising young players who could be the foundation of a brighter future leading into the move to Bramley-Moore.

All of a sudden, through Godfrey and Calvert-Lewin, the retention of Gordon, the additions of McNeil, Ruben Vinagre - who Everton can purchase if he impresses during his loan spell - Onana and Garner, the development of January signings Vitalii Mykolenko and Nathan Patterson, and the emergence of academy starlets Reece Welch, Stanley Mills and Lewis Warrington, who secured a loan move to Fleetwood Town, Everton have a core group of players aged 25 and under who could grow together. Jarrad Branthwaite, on loan at PSV, is also part of that group of prospects who can now look to the likes of Coady, Tarkowski, club captain Seamus Coleman and Jordan Pickford - who has worn the armband in Coleman’s asence - for guidance and support. One key thread that runs through signings both young and experienced is character. Coady and Tarkowski are natural leaders while Garner and Onana have both captained at youth level.

Until now, Moshiri’s tenure has been marred by the spending of half a billion pounds on transfers that culminated in a relegation battle. As the club lurched between managers and directors of football its transfer business lacked vision, creating the broken machine inherited by Lampard and Thelwell.

A strategy has been clear in their first summer working together and that is progress. It has led to an improvement already visible on the pitch, even if the Blues have failed to win any of the first five league games. Given the performances so far, and the fine margins Everton have fallen on the wrong side of, it is not unreasonable to believe that had Calvert-Lewin stayed fit and the Gana Gueye move concluded before the season and not after a month of negotiations, the club would have several more points than the three already secured.

If last season taught the Blues anything, however, it should have been that football is too cruel to leave anything to chance. Back in July, Moshiri urged supporters to judge the transfer window upon its conclusion. Now it is over, the squad is undoubtedly in a better place.

The outstanding question is whether Everton head into the coming months too reliant on Calvert-Lewin returning to full fitness and finding the form that could carry him into England’s World Cup squad. As he continues his recovery, Maupay is under pressure to settle quickly while the likes of Gordon and Gray will need to continue to contribute goals. Everton are stronger, but only time will tell whether they are strong enough to avoid another relegation battle and Lampard and Thelwell are given the freedom to plot a path towards the top half of the table and beyond.