5 of Everton's biggest issues right now

When a mid-table club spends more than £140m in a transfer window, it is expected that they would at least challenge for a top five spot. But sadly for Everton, things are going terribly wrong even though it's still fairly early days in the Premier League.

They have been battered in their last 4 games, conceding a total of 10 goals. They are currently 18th in the Premier League and look far from challenging for a top 4 spot and for all the money they've spent, they could be struggling to secure a Europa League spot.

Having spent that amount of money, has Koeman created problems for himself?

We take a look at some of the issues at Everton

#5 No recognised striker

Everton, for the past 3 seasons, were carried by Romelu Lukaku and his goals. Last season, Lukaku scored 25 goals in 37 Premier League games, which was five times more than the next top scorer Ross Barkley's goal tally of 5.

His £75m move to Manchester United has clearly hit Everton hard and they weren't been able to score in any of the past 4 games in all completions.

Koeman's decision to bring in Rooney and Sandro for Lukaku is clearly not working, as both players haven’t been able to hit the ground running. Rooney, in the twilight of his career, is clearly not the same striker he once was and Sandro just doesn’t look like a number 9 who can score on a regular basis.

#4 Lack of pace in the team

Lookman is yet to play in Premier League

In their last game against Manchester United at Old Trafford, Everton were defending too deep and were trying to hit United on the counter. But on most occasions, they were unsuccessful owing to lack of pace and drive in the team.

Spending such a huge amount of money and not buying a single player who can run at defenders the way Lukaku and Barkley could, was a massive mistake. Though Barkley is still at the club, his heart is set elsewhere.

Rooney, at this stage of his career, would certainly benefit if a player blessed with pace plays alongside him in the team. The former Manchester United star is no longer a number nine as he has lost pace and his finishing prowess has diminished. He can, however, pick a pass and the presence of someone quick will help him contribute in a better manner.

Everton are surely missing the pace of the injured Yannick Bolasie but surely Koeman needs to have some sort of explanation as to why a genuine quick winger such as Ademola Lookman has not been played more often.

#3 Similar kind of Players

Klassen(bottom left), Sigurdsson (center) & Rooney(bottom right) are players with similar playing styles

Everton and Koeman splashed the cash and bought some promising and big-name players but it seems they didn’t quite pay attention to the kind of players they were bringing in. Davy Klassen, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Wayne Rooney are all No. 10s and are good with the ball at their feet.

Now, having so many similar kinds of players means a lot of them are going to play out of position and that is what has been happening. Often Klassen and Sigurdsson have ended up playing on the flanks which means they spend less time with the ball on their feet and their creative ability to pick a pass and unlock defences has diminished.

#2 Midfield partnership issue

Schneiderlin-Gueye partnership not working

Morgan Schneiderlin & Idris Gueye have been the midfield pair preferred by Koeman in the centre of the park for Everton. Playing two midfielders who are defensive minded means that the transition from defence to attack doesn't happen smoothly.

Gueye and Schneiderlin get too involved in shielding the back 3. This means that they are not able to link with the forwards which lead to Everton playing in their half too often rather than moving forward and playing in their opposition's half.

A better option would be to play Davy Klassen, Tom Davies or James McCarthy in a partnership with Schneiderlin, Gueye or Besic which would allow for quick transition from defence to attack and a better link up with the forwards.

#1 Lack of cohesion between players

New signing Michael Keane has struggled to impose himself

When you spend such a big amount and bring as many as 10 new players, it is obvious that they are going to take some time to get used to each other. Add to that the fact that most of these players are playing in a system which has 3 at the back for the first time.

This has been evident in all the 4 defeats. Most evident has been Michael Keane‘s lack of connection with his fellow defenders Ashley Williams and Phil Jagielka. His lack of understanding of the system and his partners often drags both Williams and Jagielka off their positions.

Everton can still make a comeback in the race to top-4 as it is still early in the season, but Koeman needs to first figure out how to get the best of his players and settle down with a system which works best for the kind of players he has. The only way he can get the best out of Rooney and Sigurdsson if he can inject some pace in the team in form of the impressive yet underutilized Ademola Lookman.