da bet nacional： Everton ended the 2022/23 Premier League season in pure, unadulterated pandemonium after Abdoulaye Doucoure extended his goalscoring purple patch at the most crucial of moments, unleashing an effort from range to secure three points against Bournemouth and preserve top-flight status.
da 888casino： Sean Dyche's side were level after 55 minutes before the former Watford midfielder's strike secured the most important result of the season; Leicester City, falling at the final hurdle, did all they could after defeating West Ham United but sank into the second tier following the Toffees' victory.
The jubilation that followed the swerving of relegation is the product of years of neglect and malaise, a club riven from its identity and now requiring extensive surgery to rectify the wrongs on the pitch, transfer front and boardroom, now having avoided the drop in successive seasons courtesy of late surges.
One glaring issue among the litter of concerns is the lack of offensive potency – Everton's 34 Premier League goals this season are greater than only Wolverhampton Wanderers' 31 strikes – and £15m summer signing Neal Maupay must be among the first to be swept from Goodison Park after an insipid season.
Should Everton sell Neal Maupay?
Signed from Brighton & Hove Albion by Frank Lampard, Maupay was always an energetic menace and yielded ten-goal and two eight-goal returns across his three seasons with the Seagulls.
However, since his summer switch, the 26-year-old has only scored once across all competitions, not entrusted with a central role and starting just 11 Premier League contests despite first-choice forward Dominic Calvert-Lewin suffering another difficult term and missing 14 matches due to injury.
His misfiring travails are illustrated by Sofascore, with the site branding him with a lowly 6.56 average rating in the league this year, having averaged just 1.2 shots and 0.3 key passes per game, with his "woeful" stint on Merseyside labelled a "disaster" by journalist Paul Brown.
Ellis Simms has proved that he can offer offensive firepower when called upon, notably netting a "superb" strike – as described by writer Peter Guy – against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in March to restore parity late on, while also dubbed an "absolute nuisance" for his brutish frontal presence by Phil Smith.
And while Calvert-Lewin's fitness issues plague the Toffees' endeavours like a swarming insect, he is a towering talisman and a prolific goalscorer, and with the addition of a reliable new strike-partner, Everton's offensive fortunes would only improve.
Owner Farhad Moshri now has an apt opportunity to eradicate the forward problems and ditch Maupay's tepid presence on Merseyside with a more potent and robust striker, and if he neglects to fix this area of concern, Everton could be embroiled in a third successive relegation-threatened campaign.