By this weekend, it will be nine weeks since Everton ended their season by beating Newcastle at St James’ Park to seal a 13th-placed Premier League finish, their best performance since 2021.
With ambitious new owners and a summer move to their magnificent new stadium, it felt as though a reboot of a once mighty club was on the cards.
It has not turned out the way Moyes imagined.
Four new players, including Aznou and reserve keeper Mark Travers, does not cover for the loss of five experienced regular starters including Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Abdoulaye Doucoure.
Everton drew with League Two Accrington and lost at Championship side Blackburn before heading to the United States for the Premier League Summer Series.
After Saturday’s 3-0 defeat by Bournemouth, Moyes, 62, said he needed six more players.
“The one thing I’ll do is I’ll tell the fans straight, and I’m telling it straight at the moment, we’re having a bit of a struggle getting ones in quickly,” said Moyes.
“My first thought is yes, I’m surprised, because I think Everton’s such a big club, with great traditions and the new stadium’s an exciting move for us.
“But when you think again about it, we’ve been in or around the relegation positions for the last five years, not far off the bottom, so maybe there’s been reasons for it.”
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