Everton were in turmoil before Ainsley Maitland-Niles' 96th-minute equaliser against Manchester United last weekend. And to some extent, they still are - but all is not lost.
The Toffees are unbeaten in their opening three matches of the new Premier League season, with five points on the board, so the players are holding up their side of the bargain. At board level, though, it has been well-documented over the past couple of weeks that all is not well. Defeat at home to Man United would've seen a return of the phenomenon widely regarded as the 'Goodison boo' upon the final whistle.
A week prior, supporters had protested against the potential sale of academy graduate Harrison Armstrong to Nottingham Forest which prompted a £40 million U-turn by the club's decision-makers. Then, fans could only watch as Everton jettisoned £100m worth of attacking talent on transfer deadline day, replacing them with nothing.
Silver lining to Everton's disastrous deadline day
It's understandable, then, that Evertonians are keen to hang their hats on Armstrong and his potential. And while many may assume he is the young player with the highest ceiling at the Hill Dickinson Stadium this season, FourFourTwo beg to differ.
Everton's signing of Chelsea academy star Tyrique George could prove to be some of the best business the club have done in recent years, because the 20-year-old has hit the ground running this season, despite the external noise surrounding the club's failings off the pitch.
The left-sided winger impressed against Man United, finding the net with a great effort to level the scoreline late in the game. It was his first Premier League goal for the club.
But it is not George's goalscoring that will, in our opinion, make him a dark horse for the PFA Young Player of the Year award.
Courtesy of Gradient Sports data, George is the Premier League's best ball-carrier so far this season. Admittedly, the campaign is merely three weeks old but the signs are promising.
George is performing well above average in various areas, including passing, shooting and winning duels, but it is his ball-carrying which really lights up the database.
So far this season, George has completed seven of his nine attempted dribbles, beating his man with regularity during the early knockings of the campaign. This aspect of his game is especially reminiscent of an Everton teammate's breakthrough at Aston Villa: Jack Grealish.
Grealish was - and to some extent, still is - an elite level ball-carrier. Both are capable of transporting play upfield, tens of yards at a time with the ball at their feet. For clubs who are likely to find themselves in mid-table and below, alleviating opposition pressure by taking the ball far away from their own goal is a useful skill to have, not to mention leveraging it to good effect in an attacking sense in the final third.
George is going to be tasked with doing the former an awful lot this season, not least because Everton's first-team squad only has 18 senior members. Opportunities are going to be forthcoming for the ex-Chelsea youngster and on early season evidence, he's ready to grasp them with both hands.
Everton have left themselves with one recognised striker in David Moyes' group, Thierno Barry, who is the type of striker who requires service from out wide, and runners. As he has shown in recent weeks, George can offer the latter from the left-hand side, and Brennan Johnson is more than capable of doing that on the opposite flank. It relies on all three remaining fit, but gives things a decidedly rosier outlook than when the window slammed shut last week.
Chances for George to break through at Chelsea were always going to be few and far between, despite the cameo role he played at Stamford Bridge before joining the Toffees. The Blues will be looking to challenge for the Premier League title this season, albeit as an outside bet, and the £116m signing of Morgan Rogers guarantees Chelsea a greater likelihood of success than if they were to give George equal importance in the squad.
If George can add tangible end product as well, as he demonstrated against Man United, then there is every chance due to the level of exposure, working alongside Grealish and the style Everton are likely to play, that George will be someone we're all talking about very highly come the end of the season.
