3 ways Everton could line up next season

Challenging Huddersfield Town's status as the busiest Premier League team of the summer transfer window is Everton, looking to encroach on the top four by blending young players with an experienced spine of top-tier stalwarts.

Ronald Koeman hasn't hid his desire to manage Barcelona in the future, but his only Spanish audition at Valencia fell flat. Can the Dutch handler prove his credentials and inspire the Toffees to greater heights in English football?

Here are three ways Koeman's new-look Everton could line up next season:

3-5-2

Everton's back-three was unfairly dismissed when Chelsea - in its standout performance of a title-winning campaign - dismantled it in a 5-0 win at Stamford Bridge. The fact that a similar system was used in Everton's own finest outing - a 4-0 bashing of Manchester City last January - was strangely overlooked by many.

Mason Holgate can seize an early opportunity to stake a claim in the first team while Seamus Coleman works on his rehabilitation from a double leg fracture suffered in March. He's a promising talent, but whether he can burst forward and sufficiently defend from a wing-back slot will be explored during pre-season training.

This shape would allow £30-million buy Michael Keane to showcase his assurance in possession alongside the less refined attributes of veterans Phil Jagielka and Ashley Williams, and would also see returned local lad Wayne Rooney partner fellow new boy Sandro Ramirez up top.

4-2-3-1

Like Holgate benefiting from Coleman's absence, Yannick Bolasie's injury frees up space for Ademola Lookman in the lineup. The winger shone for England at the Under-20 World Cup, and can have a breakout season in 2017-18.

In fact, Koeman can toy with various combinations of personnel for this system, such as putting Rooney in the No. 10 role that effectively lost him his place at Manchester United last season, or recalling Aaron Lennon to one of the flanks. Who knows, Ross Barkley might still be around.

Sandro should slot straight into this formation, with it being similar to the one he fronted during his best run of form for Malaga. He's not an out-and-out striker though, with his ability to contribute to various phases of play and curate chances for teammates showing the influence of his idol David Villa.

4-3-3

A shape more fitting with the Barcelona tradition was used regularly in the latter part of the season, but rather than being an aesthetic statement by Koeman it was probably used to allow Morgan Schneiderlin, Idrissa Gueye, and the exciting Tom Davies to be fielded at the same time.

While the midfield roles are self-explanatory with one player slightly more withdrawn than the other pair, the way the forward line is drawn up could vary.

Like in the 4-2-3-1, Sandro could spearhead the strike force, but with Rooney and Klaassen shuffling behind as pseudo No. 10s. Alternatively, the opposition's defence could be stretched by having two widemen either side of Sandro or Rooney - Kevin Mirallas and Lookman, for example - while Davies is given license to charge through the middle, similarly to how Dele Alli operated for Tottenham Hotspur in the 2015-16 term.