A window of potential for Everton

The transfer window has been a massive success so far for Everton Football Club. In securing Romelu Lukaku, and making him the club record signing, the club acquired one of Europe's hottest talents at a premium price.

The club also added Gareth Barry after his loan spell, Bosnian Muhamed Besic and winger Christian Atsu on loan to add to an already talented squad, as well as bringing in several youngsters with an eye on the future. In fact, the club's best business probably came in securing the long-term signatures of Ross Barkley, Seamus Coleman, John Stones and hopefully James McCarthy. The club has a solid, long-term base on which to build upon.

Despite this, there are some murmurs of discontent at a lack of further incomings. In fact, most would agree that there are several positions that could further be bolstered to allow us to be fully equipped for the very busy domestic and European schedule to come. These next two weeks could be very exciting as there are potential deals to be done, and at a good price to boot.

With Ross Barkley thankfully only set to miss two months instead of the early rumoured five, Everton still have a major problem in replacing their crown jewel. Injuries such as this can potentially be recovered from quickly but then require long periods of fitness and work before a player can be deemed fully fit. They are also often followed by niggling hamstring or fitness related injuries because of the lack of training. Barkley will need time and the pressure off before he can come back effectively.

While the club have Leon Osman ready to step up, there is a young and talented Evertonian in the shape of Lewis Holtby ready to come to their aid. While Barkley is rightly irreplaceable and Osman is a seasoned Premier League player, the young German could prove a shrewd buy for Martinez. Tricky and good with the ball at his feet, he has been unfortunate at Tottenham but looked decent while on loan at Fulham last year and will be available for a relatively small price.

Martinez has similar problems to solve up front. Now that Lukaku has been secured, the pressure will be on for the Belgian to hit the ground running. With Arouna Kone not fully fit, the club will surely be looking for more attacking options before deadline day. That man should be Loïc Remy of QPR. The Frenchman is rated highly in this league and has the potential be better still. One stumbling block will be his price, although that could be negotiated down to a more suitable price for the club. A loan to buy option would be ideal, though his wage demands are also likely to prove troublesome.

The draw with Leicester last Sunday highlighted the potential demise of the strong centre back pairing of Sylvain Distin and Phil Jagielka. Frenchman Distin is 37 now and cannot go on forever, while Jagielka is 32 and looks to be on the decline, especially following a poor World Cup showing with England. While the club have John Stones ready to step in, further additions for the future would be more than welcome.

One option could potentially sit in Manchester City's reserves, in the form of Micah Richards. The defender looked like he would be the next best thing when he broke on to the scene, but his career has never really taken off in Manchester and he has been told he can leave for the right price. A move to Everton, and working under Martinez could reignite a stuttering career and give the club a once prodigious talent at a relatively cheap price.

As a result of the Lukaku deal, it's unlikely Everton have much left in the kitty for further signings, despite Bill Kenwright's assertion that there is some money left over. Similar to last season, the loan market is likely to prove an area of interest and further success for the club. Last seasons deadline day proved key to the year that followed, and hopefully this one can prove the same with just a little bit more ambition from Kenwright and Martinez again.