Over the last few seasons, Everton have been in constant relegation battles and their Premier League status has never felt so close to disappearing.
To make matters worse, on the 16th November last year, the Toffees were handed a 10-point deduction due to the Merseyside club being unable to stick to the Premier League's FFP ruling. This deduction was the most severe in 135 years of top-flight football that any club has ever received.
The deduction took immediate effect and an already struggling Everton had been even more crippled due to this ruling. At the time the ruling was announced, Sean Dyche's side had a total of 14 points and were dropped down to four.
This then placed the squad second from bottom of the Premier League table, level on points with 20th-placed, Burnley. The deduction was recently met with an appeal that the Merseyside club are reportedly set to hear back from their appeal by the end of this week.
Former Liverpool legend, Jamie Carragher, has shared his thoughts on the situation, saying via X: "What is the hold up on the appeals decision regarding Everton’s 10pt deduction?
"Two weeks have passed, this is surely a matter of urgency for Everton and the clubs around them. I’m sure they and the Premier League know their decision by now. Are the Premier League waiting until after Everton’s home game…"
Although this is speculation, it does feel as if a long time has passed since the club were told that they'd be losing points.
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However, despite the negativity surrounding this season, there have been some positives regarding player performance throughout the campaign thus far, most namely, of those is Frank Lampard signing Amadou Onana.
How Amadou Onana has played so far this season
The defensive midfielder has been on top form for the Toffees in all competitions as he has played a total of 25 games in all competitions and has managed to contribute to three goals during that time.
Additionally, Sofascore states that in the Premier League, the 22-year-old has managed to make 2.5 tackles and recover the ball 6.2 times per game.
Although these stats may not seem too impressive, despite only playing two additional games than Onana, Rodri has only managed 2.2 tackles per game whilst recovering 7.3. When put into this perspective, it shows how influential the midfielder is to the defence on Dyche's side.
Over the course of the transfer windows, the Belgium international has been linked with a move away from Everton to many teams, such as Newcastle.
However, these never came to fruition and a move is now even less likely to happen now that Onana is worth more than Everton starlet, Jarrad Branthwaite.
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Onana & Branthwaite's valuations in 2024
Branthwaite is yet another one of Everton's players who has been performing to a high standard this season.
The 6 foot 4 defender has burst onto the scene this season and staked his claim for a starting spot. He has appeared a total of 27 times and has even managed to score a goal; the late equaliser against Spurs recently.
However, despite his solid outings this season, the 21-year-old's value is half of what Onana's is, according to Transfermarkt.
Onana's value currently sits at the €50m (£42.7m) mark, whereas Branthwaite is rated around the €25m (£21.3m). Of course, should either player be sold it's highly likely that any willing suitor will need to cough up a great deal more. That said, it's a marker of the Belgian's impressive displays that he's worth even more than his Everton teammate.
It's evident that both of them have helped solidify the Toffees' defence this season and will continue to do so until at least the 2024/25 season where a big pay day could well be on the way.