Having avoided relegation from the Premier League in dramatic circumstances this past season, plenty of transfer activity is expected at Everton in the coming months.
The latest name to be linked with a move to Goodison Park is talented Sunderland winger Jack Clarke, who scored nine goals and provided 11 assists for the Black Cats in the regular season as they narrowly missed out on promotion to the top flight.
According to The i, Everton are one of a number of Premier League clubs – along with Crystal Palace, Brentford and newly-promoted Burnley – who are tempted to hand over £15m to land the 22-year-old.
Who is Jack Clarke?
It is little wonder Sunderland are facing a battle to keep hold of Clarke on the back of his hugely efficient 2022-23 campaign, one in which the Leeds United academy product directly contributed to 20 goals in 45 regular-season matches – only seven others can boast a higher return.
The £14k-per-week Clarke also ranked second in the division for progressive carries (183), which measures moves that carry the ball at least ten yards towards the opposition's goal, behind only Viktor Gyokeres (198).
The England U20 international has truly kick-started his career across a season-and-a-half at the Stadium of Light, having initially joined on a short-term loan from Tottenham, where he was restricted to just three appearances across three seasons.
It did not take Clarke long to win over Sunderland supporters after signing permanently on a four-year deal last July, with his two-assists-and-a-goal showing in August's 3-0 win over Rotherham United a true sign of what was to come.
"Honestly unreal," football reporter Josh Bunting said of that performance. "He's been incredible so far this season. He's been head and shoulders the best player on the pitch. Stunning performance."
Where would Jack Clarke fit in at Everton?
Everton are not exactly short on players in wide areas, but the Toffees' squad is in desperate need of freshening up, and they could do a lot worse than bringing in a hungry player no doubt looking to prove himself at the highest level.
There is a case to be made that Everton supporters have already seen a player similar to Clarke up close in recent years, with Gerard Deulofeu another skilful ball carrier who was capable of playing out wide or through the middle.
Deulofeu has averaged 0.26 assists per 90 minutes across his career, which is almost identical to Clarke (0.22). The pair are also very alike in other aspects of their attacking game, such as goal-creating actions (0.49 compared to 0.40) and successful take-ons (50% compared to 47%).
While Deulofeu is hardly remembered as a player who truly lit up the Premier League, scoring just eight in 75 for Everton, his performances earned him a return to Barcelona, albeit for just half of the 2017-18 season.
Clarke will be hoping for a similarly bright future, and in the Toffees, he may well be given a similar platform as Deulofeu to further kick on and show Tottenham were wrong to let him go.
As Clarke's agent Ian Harte told The i, "every player has a price". At a reported £15m, that is surely a fee worth paying for an Everton side in desperate need of change.