Everton secured survival from relegation in the dying minutes of the Premier League season after a dreadful campaign that once again saw the side perform at an abysmal level throughout.
Indeed, the initial arrival of Sean Dyche lifted Goodison Park off its knees after the sacking of Frank Lampard in January, but the promising early displays – such as the 1-0 win over Arsenal – quickly wore off leaving the Toffees to teeter on the edge of the relegation zone for many weeks and months.
Whilst the most obvious positions to strengthen will be across the forward line after losing Richarlison and Anthony Gordon over the last 12 months, there will certainly be a desire for Dyche to bolster almost every key position to ensure he has quality options on the bench and the ability to rotate throughout the season.
Everton have already made a decision on the future of those with contracts expiring next month; whilst Seamus Coleman, Andy Lonergan and Tom Davies have been offered new deals, Yerry Mina is one of the players who will not be retained beyond this season alongside Conor Coady who will not be offered a permanent contract to remain either after his loan spell.
As a result, there is a real opportunity for Dyche to identify new additions who can make an instant impact in Everton's defensive set up and one player who has been recently linked with a move back to the Premier League via the blue side of Merseyside is former Wolverhampton Wanderers star Romain Saiss.
Would Romain Saiss be a good fit for Everton?
With Coady and Mina are confirmed for an exit and with the club not ruling out the sale of both Mason Holgate and Ben Godfrey at this point, there is no reason why Saiss can't provide a solid short-term solution at a great price for Dyche.
The Morocco skipper has spent a year in the Turkish Süper Lig with Besiktas after parting ways with Wolves at the end of his six-year contract but could now be the perfect profile of player to partner James Tarkowski at Goodison Park next season.
Over 25 league appearances, the 33-year-old – dubbed a "tower of strength" by BBC pundit Danny Murphy – scored one goal, tallied up an 82% pass completion rate and kept six clean sheets, as well as averaging 64.1 touches, 1.2 tackles, 1.1 interceptions, 3.4 clearances and 4.6 duels won per game, proving he is still a massive presence on the pitch.
Not only that, Saiss was one of the standout performers at the World Cup in Qatar at the end of last year after captaining his team to a record-breaking achievement by becoming the first African team to reach the semi-finals of the prestigious international competition, another testament to his impeccable leadership skills and rightful nickname as the 'Moroccan Maldini'.
With that being said, the £48k-per-week ace could be a massive asset for the Toffees next season as his consistency and reliability in defence would be warmly welcomed to soften the blow of Mina and Coady's exit next season.