Everton survived the drop last season by the skin of their teeth and now could be set to improve their Premier League prospects by returning for Shakhtar Donetsk winger Tete this summer.
Sean Dyche arrived at Goodison Park in January and succeeded in preserving the club's top-flight status with several key results, culminating on the final day of the term when a narrow victory over Bournemouth sank Leicester City.
Improvements are paramount this summer, however, and while Arnaut Danjuma has been signed on loan and Ashley Young has joined the fold on a free transfer, there is still work to be done on Merseyside, with Tete now a target.
Who wants to sign Tete?
According to Calciomercato, the Brazilian ace is available on a free transfer, with Serie A champions Napoli set to give the Toffees stiff competition.
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This follows claims from talkSPORT that the Merseyside outfit have scribbled Tete into a shortlist after missing out on Leeds United's Wilfried Gnonto, who is set to stay at Elland Road.
How good is Tete?
Dyche will be desperate to get things right in the transfer market this summer, and will bear the knowledge that his grit and determination alone will not craft framework sturdy enough to climb the Premier League table.
Signing Tete would signify a real statement of intent, bolstering the attacking ranks and securing a signature of an ace who was of interest back in January, only to pen a short-term deal with Leicester City instead.
Starting nine times for the Foxes, Tete scored just once and faded as the term approached the business end, although he did start brightly. Despite this, his quality was discernible and his weaving runs and directness are two facets that Everton could benefit from.
Indeed, as per FBref, the 23-year-old ranks among the top 17% of attacking midfielders and wingers for goals, the top 24% for tackles and the top 21% for interceptions, and while these are not massively impressive metrics, they illustrate his multidimensional skill set.
The 5 foot 9 wide man is also listed as a comparable player to Chelsea's Raheem Sterling, and could grow into his skin in the Premier League with a permanent home at Goodison, perhaps even emulating the England international.
Sterling joined the west London outfit in a £47.5m transfer from Manchester City last summer and was unable to prevent the Blues from sliding into obscurity – with Chelsea's miserable campaign leaving them mired in a 12th-placed finish.
Over the duration of his career, Sterling has gleaned four Premier League trophies, five League Cups and one FA Cup, scoring 115 goals and supplying 80 assists from 348 matches in the English top flight.
The one-time Liverpool star was definitely not at the races last term but still showed glimpses of his striking instinct, ranking among the top 22% of positional peers for goals and the top 13% for touches in the attacking box, indicating his positional placement is still top-class.
If Tete can work on his ability as a wide vehicle and look to progress into the danger areas with greater regularity, he would undoubtedly find success, especially since he was already averaging 1.2 shots per game with City last season.
Sterling, comparatively, averaged 1.5 shots per game, though the 28-year-old did score six times to Tete's one.
Hailed as a "hurricane" by Shakhtar CEO Sergei Palkin, Tete boasts the tools to craft a successful Premier League career and if he decides to join the ranks on Merseyside, he could star as one of the team's attacking focal points, potentially replicating his tricky positional confrere in Sterling.
