Analyzing Everton’s pre-season squad to Switzerland

Everton will continue their 2023/24 pre-season preparations in Switzerland after the first team squad and staff flew out earlier today. After meeting up at Finch Farm for some fitness evaluations and testing last week, the training camp has moved base to the scenic surroundings of the Alps with five days in Nyon.

The Blues will take on Swiss second division side Stade Nyonnais on Friday 14 July (6pm local time, 5pm BST) at their training base at the Centre Sportif De Colovray complex on the Swiss-French border to close out their time in Switzerland.

Per the update from the Everton site, the majority of the men’s first team squad are in the traveling party, with players currently involved in international football or still rehabilitating from injuries not available.

Full 28-man squad in Switzerland

Goalkeepers: Billy Crellin, Andy Lonergan, Jordan Pickford, Joao Virginia

Defenders: Ryan Astley, Ben Godfrey, Michael Keane, Nathan Patterson, James Tarkowski, Reece Welch

Midfielders: Dele, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Andre Gomes, Idrissa Gana Gueye, Liam Higgins, Mackenzie Hunt, Alex Iwobi, Dwight McNeil, Stanley Mills, Amadou Onana, Tyler Onyango, Lewis Warrington

Forwards: Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Tom Cannon, Lewis Dobbin, Katia Kouyate, Neal Maupay, Francis Okoronkwo

Photo by Tony McArdle/Everton FC via Getty Images

There are certainly some interesting omissions from the traveling party, as well as a big opportunity for a number of players in the squad.

Seamus Coleman - The veteran signed a one-year extension last week but is still recovering from the season-ending knee injury he suffered in May.

Per the Echo, the following trio are all injured with training camp ailments -

Mason Holgate - The defender did not make the trip to Switzerland, despite being prominently in most of the training videos and pictures the club announced last week. Has been linked with a move to newly-promoted Sheffield United as well as Nottingham Forest.

Vitalii Mykolenko - The left back struggled with injuries in the back half of the season, and replacing or backing him up this season is a priority for the summer.

Jean Philippe-Gbamin - The injury-prone midfielder is expected to leave this summer, with his agent describing his time on Merseyside as ‘a nightmare’.

Meanwhile, Ashley Young is widely expected to become Everton’s first signing in nearly a year with the 38-year-old scheduled to undergo a medical at Finch Farm tomorrow and will then fly out to join the squad after that.

For Cannon, Dobbin, Mills and Warrington specifically, this is an opportunity to show that they belong at this level and will be looking to gain some much-needed exposure with the first team this summer.

Demarai Gray is still at the Gold Cup with his new national team Jamaica, while James Garner and Jarrad Branthwaite have some time off after winning the European Under-21 Championships with England last weekend.