Everton were close to bringing in Dutch fullback Kenny Tete on a free, but it looks as though the player was using the Toffees to get what he really wanted out of Fulham.
And so the seemingly never-ending search to replace Seamus Coleman in the long-term continues, although, ironically, the solution may actually include Coleman himself for 2025/26, as the club captain is returning for yet another season.
Still, supporters aren't expecting much from Coleman, and so the idea of Tete as a bit of a right-back stopgap made a lot of sense. It didn't happen, though, and so the likeliest outcome for this summer, one that should be a rather busy one for Everton, is to find another player who can fill the position for a year or two while they look for a younger, longer-term option.
The list of players available for free isn't very inspiring, and mostly includes older guys who wouldn't provide much that Coleman can't.
Sure, someone like Kyle Walker-Peters wouldn't be a terrible option and maybe Nelson Semedo still has something to offer, including potentially serving in two positions, but the focus here is on a guy who would require a little outside-the-box thinking: Davide Calabria.
The Italy international was quite good in Serie A last season as a passer and in serving a ball into the box, playing for both AC Milan and Bologna, after a January loan. It didn't amount to many assists (just one in a little over 1400 minutes), although his total xAG suggest he was a bit unlucky in that regard.
Calabria was a fairly regular starter for seven of his eleven seasons at Milan, but the addition of Emerson Royal and some issues with managers Paulo Fonseca and Sergio Conceição led to the fullback not only losing his captaincy, but the loan to Bologna.
And now Calabria is available on a free and plays a position of need for Everton, so he'd be at least worth a sniff from the Merseysiders. Maybe he's not capable of being a regular starter in the Premier League, but he's shown he can do the job in a top-5 European league, so there must be something there.
This won't be a long-term solution, but it can help Everton hold down the slot for another season.