Sean Dyche must reinvest all the Amadou Onana sale fee into signing £90k-a-week player who loves Everton

Everton have not been a club synonymous with making wise business decisions recently, but ever since Kevin Thelwell joined, that has been a shifting narrative.

Instead of buying older players and signing them to long, lucrative contracts, he has sought to refresh their transfer model by largely opting for a youth-focused recruitment policy.

Recent years have seen Amadou Onana, James Garner, Dwight McNeil, Youssef Chermiti and Tim Iroegbunam all signed when aged 23 or younger, and thus far the bulk of these have thrived.

Age is no barrier for technical and physical brilliance, and that is what has largely been exhibited at Goodison Park across the last two years, where they have made the biggest steps away from relegation dogfights.

However, one of the starring members of this youthful contingent has now left, leaving a huge vacancy for Thelwell to once again fill.

Amadou Onana leaves Everton for Aston Villa

It always felt inevitable that at least one major sale would be required this summer, if Everton were to keep the books balanced.

However, their desperation to retain Jarrad Branthwaite almost made it inevitable that their Belgian midfield powerhouse would instead be the one to go.

With Onana having moved to Aston Villa officially, Sean Dyche will lose an aggressive conductor from his midfield, who was both adept in breaking up the play and progressing his team up the pitch when the opportunity arose.

A fine acquisition and a solid piece of business, selling him on just two years after signing for a £50m fee, this is exactly how Everton should be operating.

However, whilst many might suggest that the Toffees have now entered a desperate scramble to source a replacement, that simply is not the case.