Ronald Koeman has revealed he was encouraged by the progress his Everton side are making following Saturday’s 3-0 friendly win at Barnsley.
The Dutchman fielded a youthful-looking team at Oakwell but it was goals from established first-teamers Kevin Mirallas, Gerard Deulofeu and Ross Barkley that gave the Toffees a comfortable win in the South Yorkshire sunshine.
Koeman is still looking to mould his side after being appointed earlier this summer and is expected to dip into the transfer market in the coming weeks to add further quality and depth to his squad.
The Toffees begin their season on August 13 at home against Tottenham, a game they are available at 2.88 to win, with the draw at 3.25 and Spurs priced at 2.40.
With three weeks to go until the new campaign there is still work to do but Koeman admitted after Saturday’s game that he was pleased with the direction in which his side is heading.
He told Everton TV: “Maybe on one or two occasions we were a little bit lucky to not concede a goal.
But the players showed good work-rate, played good football, created a lot of opportunities and we scored three goals, which is good and what you like to see. “I’m happy with most things I’ve seen so far.
Of course, we can do things better – we can communicate more than we did today.
But you have to understand that it’s the third week of pre-season and we’ll make steps.”
Everton are currently on offer at 11.00 to finish in the Premier League’s top four, while Koeman’s former club Southampton are 13.00.
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