While Everton boss Sean Dyche will be primarily focused on steering his new side away from danger over the coming weeks, the Englishman will also need to have one eye on potential additions that could be made this summer.
With the Toffees currently on a run of three league games without defeat, there is likely to be renewed optimism that relegation can be avoided, with the former Burnley boss hoping to spark a resurgence on Merseyside ahead of next season.
Any hopes of a major squad overhaul at the end of the current campaign do appear rather slim, however, with the club's financial woes likely to mean that there will be limited funds to spend in the transfer window.
As such, that could make the free agent market particularly appealing to those at Goodison Park, with recent reports suggesting that the struggling outfit are among a raft of Premier League clubs who are interested in signing Borussia Monchengladbach star, Marcus Thuram.
The France international is attracting admiring glances with just a matter of months left to run on his existing deal, with Dyche and co likely hoping that the 25-year-old can be a solution to their centre-forward woes.
Should Everton sign Marcus Thuram?
As the joint-lowest scorers in the division this season, Everton are certainly in need of a reliable goalscoring presence to help spearhead the attack, with current number nine Dominic Calvert-Lewin having become something of a frustrating figure at the club due to his persistent injury woes.
After previously scoring 29 league goals across the 2019/20 and 2020/21 campaigns, the England international has since scored just six top-flight goals since the start of last season, including netting just once in only 11 outings this term.
As Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer recently noted, the Toffees are simply "so poor in forward positions", with the record of Calvert-Lewin – and teammate Neal Maupay – having become rather "embarrassing" in truth.
The former Sheffield United man is no longer an asset to be relied upon, with Dyche likely to have to look to academy graduate Ellis Simms to deliver the goods until the end of the season, with the 22-year-old recently netting his first Premier League goal in fine fashion against Chelsea.
To put faith in the latter man as the club's leading centre-forward option beyond the end of this season would appear too much of a gamble, in truth, with the Oldham native having only made a handful of appearances in England's top tier to date.
As such, the signing of 6 foot 4 hotshot, Thuram could be just the man that is needed to replace Calvert-Lewin as Everton's go-to marksman, with the Parma-born menace having been in sparkling form so far this term, scoring 15 goals and laying on four assists in just 26 games across all fronts.
That includes a haul of 12 goals in 24 Bundesliga games to date, with the ten-cap sensation having made an effective transition to life as a central striker, after largely featuring in a wide berth in recent years.
The "phenomenal" talent – as hailed by ex-Gladbach teammate Denis Zakaria – is not only a towering presence in attack, but also showcases impressive mobility for a man of his size, as the £54k-per-week man ranks in the top 8% among his European peers for successful take-ons, as well as in the top 9% for progressive carries.
Calvert-Lewin, by contrast, ranks in just the bottom 46% and the bottom 22% in those same two metrics respectively, hence illustrating that Thuram could provide a greater, all-round package to Dyche next season.
It would, of course, take a great deal of persuading to be able to tempt the former Guingamp and Sochaux man to make the move to Merseyside, although it is clear to see just why there is such interest in his services.
