The chatter around all the players that Everton will be losing this summer has been nonstop for several weeks now, possibly longer.
In many cases, those are players that you would consider replaceable, due to age or skill, and if Everton are in the business of improving their squad, they're guys who you won't be counting on next season (although one of them might be returning after all).
One of the players that Evertonians seem to be unanimously in favor of returning is midfielder Idrissa Gana Gueye, who has impressed during his second stint in Everton blue, despite being older than he was when he left.
The Ghana international has been fantastic for the Toffees, bossing the middle of the park and often making up for deficiencies elsewhere on the pitch, and looking much younger than his 35 years of age.
There are, of course, concerns about a player of his age dropping off without much notice, but that doesn't mean that Everton can't offer him another year (with possibly a club option for another year) to help bridge the gap for next season. As much work as there is to do, they can't replace everyone in one summer and the rebuild is going to take several transfer windows.
And yet the word on a potential new contract on Gana has been pretty much non-existent. There's been plenty on fellow midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure and his increasingly likely move to Saudi Arabia, yet Gana's contract has gone from potentially in the works to maybe he's leaving in a span of a few weeks. Otherwise, nothing.
The lack of news surrounding the renewal feels plenty worrying, especially since the midfield depth is fairly lacking if both Doucoure and Gana were to leave this summer.
This isn't to say that Everton shouldn't be looking for a long-term replacement for Gana in the midfield. As well as he's played this past two seasons, eventually his age will catch up to him, and the Toffees should have a plan in place for when that happens.
But one thing is for sure, at this point, the lack of news feels an awful lot like bad news for Everton.