Toffees likely to be stuck in seventh

In what has been a quiet ante-post Premier League betting heat one team's odds have clearly contracted in a number of markets and Everton are all the rage for a top-four finish, while some speculative punters are on the Toffees for the title.

Ronald Koeman has been busy reshaping a squad who finished in splendid isolation in seventh last season, 15 points outside of the Champions League spots and 15 clear of Southampton in eighth.

There seems little prospect of Everton slipping back, but with a Europa League campaign to contend with and the sale of top scorer Romelu Lukaku to Manchester United, the excitement seems misplaced.

Wayne Rooney's return to his boyhood club is the headline arrival. He departed for Old Trafford in 2004 where he achieved great success, including becoming England and Manchester United's record goalscorer.

However, in recent times Rooney has lost his place in the England squad, scored 13 Premier League goals in the past two Premier League campaigns and looked well off the pace during his second debut in a 1-0 win over Ruzomberok.

Sentiment may be overruling sense on the Rooney signing and even with the arrivals of Sandro Ramirez and Davy Klaassen they may struggle to compensate for Lukaku's goal tally.

The Belgian, who was Everton's top goalscorer in all four seasons he was at the club, is the Toffees' record Premier League scorer with 68 goals and 25 of those came last season.

Contract rebel Ross Barkley is set to leave according to Koeman and so it could be left to impressive youngsters Tom Davies, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Ademola Lookman to bring some much-needed verve to an otherwise stodgy side.

Signing Michael Keane improves the defence and Jordan Pickford does likewise between the sticks, although they came from clubs who finished 16th and 20th respectively last season at a reported cost of around £50m.

That was hardly shrewd, under-the-radar business from highly-touted director of football Steve Walsh, while Seamus Coleman, another of Everton's better players, is sidelined with a long-term injury.

Everton are clearly still the best of the rest outside of the top six, but they were a long way from challenging for the Champions League spots last season and the pre-season optimism around Goodison appears as wayward as Rooney's recent shooting.

Key stat
Thirteen of Everton's 17 league victories came at Goodison Park last season.