David Moyes is not necessarily a manager who is stuck in his ways, at least in terms of how he sets up his teams.
While his preferred formation tends to be a 4-2-3-1, something he's used almost exclusively since he returned to Everton in season, with a tendency toward keeping his fullbacks in a more defensive position to bolster the back line and using one of the midfielders, in this case Idrissa Gana Gueye, to cover for the back four.
But Moyes isn't adverse to changing things up from time to time, including a run of matches using a back three during his most recent tenure at West Ham United. That period included back-to-back clean sheets in October 2020.
With Everton heading into a summer of great uncertainty, there is a question about whether Moyes might look to use his personnel in a different manner.
One area of focus might be the fact that the Everton manager has a trio of centerbacks who have all proved themselves to be worthy starters in the Premier League, as the injury to James Tarkowski allowed Jake O'Brien to slide over from right back, where he played for several matches when Moyes first arrived, to his more natural position in the middle of the back line.
That trio, combined with Everton currently lacking in the right-back department, could open the door for Moyes to make the shift to a back three under the right circumstances.
Everton's lineup featuring a back three
So, what would that look like, and where would Everton have holes to fill this summer to make it work?
The centerback trio is simple enough, provided the Toffees continue to spurn any and all inquiries about Jarrad Branthwaite. If the young England defender goes, then all of this is moot anyway.
If not, then Branthwaite is your LCB and O'Brien slides in to RCB with Tarkowski serving as the anchor in the center.
The wingback situation is a little more dubious for the current squad.
Vitalii Mykolenko is a capable defender but doesn't offer much going forward, so that wouldn't make him an ideal wingback, although he could work in a pinch. Another option that could be considered: Dwight McNeil, whose wand of a left foot would be quite useful offensively, and is good enough defensively to hold his own.
On the other side, this wouldn't be a good place to get usage out of Seamus Coleman, but it might be a better fit for Nathan Patterson, who is better getting up and down than he is a defender.
It's likely both of these positions could be upgraded regardless of the position Moyes uses, especially because the modern fullback should be capable of handling both the offensive and defensive duties.
The midfield currently also has some holes, although some of that depends on how you want to deploy the roles. With Gana on the verge of returning, he could hold down the fort in front of the back three solo, leaving three attackers up top.
Or Moyes could opt to slide another midfielder next to or right in front of Gana to provide further cover. That could be James Garner or Tim Iroegbunam, or even someone who isn't on the team yet. Some of this might depend on the opponent.
Similarly, the attacking group would depend on the midfield choices. If it's two midfielders, then a pairing of Charly Alcaraz and Iliman Ndiaye in the center/second striker with a striker like Beto up top. If Gana is solo, then Everton would need a right winger to pair opposite Ndiaye on the left and Alcaraz centrally with Beto or another striker up top.
Again, this isn't an every-weekend change for Everton, but it might be valuable for Moyes to have in his back pocket, especially given the strength of the squad at centerback.