Would you take Bolasie, Williams, Gueye for Stones?

But, if I had to choose between keeping Stones, and signing Bolasie, Williams and Gueye, in the present situation and given Stones' recent form and his desire to leave Everton, then I would opt for the three new signings. This solves an immediate problem, and helps build a base for further improvement under the new disciplined regime of a top-class manager.

The full article is interesting seeing the net spend table (although it is inaccurate as it does not include the sell-on fee we owed Barnsley on the Stones deal). It rightly says that for example Man City's net spend is so high partly because they failed to move on many of the players that are now surplus to requirements.

A high net spend can also indicate failure to execute sales as opposed to increase in ambition. It also ignores free transfers and understates the impact of players brought in on high wages but low transfer fees relating to age/end of contract/buy out clauses. Context is all.

A comparison of changes in wage bills during the transfer window may be more revealing as a measure of a club's ambition.

However, all that is done and dusted. Here's hoping that Galloway will develop at WBA, Browning to recover and develop, while Holgate and Funes Mori get helped by playing alongside the seasoned pros of Jags and Williams.

Williams and Jags might prove to be a Gough/Weir or Weir/Stubbs pairing, albeit with a lot more pace and mobility!

Ronald Koeman has shown that he's able to change formations on a whim, so I reckon that there will be sufficient opportunities for our defenders to all get some game time.