Liam Delap's transfer to one of Everton's rivals is another blow to the Blues as they strive to strengthen the squad and finally make some substantial upward progress in the Premier League.
David Moyes was supposedly very keen on bringing the Chelsea striker to Merseyside after failing to convince him to make that move when he left Ipswich Town last summer.
Now apparently the club are being tentatively linked with a late move for Burnley's Dutch forward Zian Flemming before the transfer window closes next week.
Everton still desperately need a right-back
As well as the ongoing need for more goal-scoring options given that both Beto and Thierno Barry have still not convinced that they can deliver enough goals - although Barry hit a hat-trick in tonight's Carabao Cup win over Preston - Everton desperately need to solve their never-ending quest for a right-back.
The situation has become something almost like a comic soap opera, with years going by without the club managing to find a replacement for Seamus Coleman. Three things now seem guaranteed in life: death, taxes and Everton can't find a right-back!
Moyes has said he has been trying to sort this out ever since he returned to the club around eighteen months ago. So, the obvious question then is: why has it still not been resolved?
To be fair, Moyes thought he had found a new full-back when Fulham's Kenny Tete seemed about to join before changing his mind and signing a new deal with the Cottagers.
In this transfer window, the Blues have supposedly looked at a number of options, including most recently Alistair Johnston, the Celtic and Canada right-back.
While he was not the ideal choice for many fans with a worrying injury history (like both Coleman and Nathan Patterson, who had been signed in 2021 to replace the Irishman) he seemed a solid option and wanted to make the move.
However, he is now again injured, and so perhaps it was fortuitous that Everton did not finalise a deal for the Canadian international. But there does not seem to have been any concrete alternatives being tracked or seriously considered, and right-back transfer talk has once more subsided.
Again, then we are back to square one with the club still without someone to fill the position, despite the fact that the season has already started as the Blues beat Crystal Palace 2-0 in last Saturday's Premier League opener.
This means that unless the Toffees can somehow pull off a deal before the transfer deadline expires (and I am not convinced they can), another player will have to fill in, as Jake O'Brien did last season.
And, somewhat bizarrely, it now appears Everton are willing to listen to offers for the Irish international defender in the next few days! So if he leaves, who is going to play right-back? Will midfielder Merlin Rohl be required to fill in during this current campaign, as he has been in pre-season?
I previously wrote on this site that the club seem to be hamstrung financially and is shopping in the cheaper aisles for recruits, although it is true that it can lead to finding a few bargains.
But I'm not sure what the Blues transfer policy is at this point because there does not seem to be a coherent strategy guiding the club's dealings, and there has been so little communication this summer to clarify things, too. Everton need to be busy before next Tuesday.
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