BREAKING NEWS;His back finally

Everton stepped up their preparations for the new season on Friday. Sean Dyche and the first-team squad trained at Goodison Park, one day ahead of the team’s final pre-season fixture against Roma at the same venue.

The Blues have had a busy summer so far. Defeats against Salford City and Coventry City sparked some concerns about the state of the team, but a 3-0 win over Preston North End reignited positivity for the new campaign.

Two new signings were on the scoresheet at Deepdale in Jesper Lindstrom and Jake O’Brien. The Blues have also brought in Tim Iroegbunam, Ilimin Ndiaye and Jack Harrison this window.

Here is a look at some of the more interesting moments from today’s training session at Goodison.

He may not have featured in any of Everton’s pre-season games, but Dele was involved in training on Friday.

The England international midfielder remains out of contract and is still keeping his fitness up with the Blues. Earlier in the window there were some suggestions that a deal to extend his stay was close after talks with Tottenham Hotspur, but as things stand he technically remains a free agent.

Dele was pictured in running exercises alongside O’Brien and Tyler Onyango. As the season edges closer, it will be intriguing to see what decision Sean Dyche and Kevin Thelwell make over his future.

If he could recapture some of the stardust that made him a force at Spurs, then he could potentially be a major asset for the squad.

It’s not been a bad start for O’Brien at Everton has it?

The gigantic defender hit the ground running in a royal blue shirt, scoring a thumping effort on his first appearance against Preston. The Irishman was then on the scoresheet again in the behind-closed-doors showdown with Motherwell, which Everton won 6-0.