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There's some Twitter talk that he's flown in to train and have talks with us. He's 20 and a left-sided forward from the lower leagues in Sweden. Lindberg apparently retweeted a tweet that read: "According to reliable sources Norrby striker Chriss Lindberg fly to England tomorrow to sign a contract with Everton U21!" There's also a conversation with an Everton fan on his Twitter timeline at https://twitter.com/ChrissLindberg @ChrissLindberg Welcome to Everton! @iPauloxD thanks! but nothing is finished yet, but if the chance comes, honestly it's hard to say no! #massiveclub The obligatory Youtube video:

The Belgian football journo who's led this story from the start tweeted this yesterday, which suggested it was all over bar the shouting: Sven Claes @svenclaes Henen to #Everton will be done in a few days. Belgian starlet from Anderlecht already decided to stay at Finch Farm. Nothing to worry. #EFC I expect Roberto is sick of being asked about him by now so it would be good if they could get it finalised one way or another. After all this, if he does eventually sign it'll be interesting to see how he gets on

Major interview here with Moyes looking back over the last 15 months etc http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2726774/DAVID-MOYES-EXCLUSIVE-Manchester-United-never-gave-time-succeed-fail.html

Yes I'm looking forward to seeing him. A quick genuine lefty, young with a point to prove, created loads of chances on loan last season and seems a really good lad too. Imagine what he will do to tired fullbacks coming off the bench as he beds into the side.

If they've been translated correctly from the Marca interview, there are some inflammatory comments from Enrique about our use of Gerard last season, which don't suggest we'll be getting any young loanees from them under this manager! http://hereisthecity.com/en-gb/2014/08/15/jl-barcelona-boss-blasts-everton-over-wasted-deulofeu/? “Gerard Deulofeu was wasted last year. They tried to kill his flair and vision. That won't happen at Seville,” Enrique told Marca.

Roberto seems to be talking down any chances of a permanent move, at the moment anyway. http://www.ghanasoccernet.com/roberto-martinez-considering-permanent-everton-stay-christian-atsu/

Leicester 1-2 Everton Baines

Atsu will be no.19 this season. Surprised Stones didn't get no.5 but maybe that's a little incentive from RM for him to keep up his progress this season and get it next time.

Italian sources linking us to 26-year-old Parma winger: http://forzaitalianfootball.com/2014/08/everton-make-offer-for-parma-winger/? He's French, pacy and WBA and Southampton have been linked previously.

Season ticket sales are up 4,000 on last season, with 3/4s of seats filled before the season kicks off. That's got to be good for the club's cash flow this season. http://www.evertonfc.com/news/archive/2014/08/11/bumper-sales-pack-goodison

Jags missed out with a slight knee problem from the Porto game but he hopes to be back for the first game of the season, or the one after: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/everton-fc-captain-phil-jagielka-7575413

I think most concerns at present are our lack of striking options during pre-season, with only Naismith on show and three young lads who have had a few minutes here and there but didn't play last night. With RM already having said that Lukaku and Mirallas won't play at Paderborn and Kone still injured it probably won't be much different on Saturday either.

Kalou available on loan and we're supposedly interested: http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/496691/Arsenal-Liverpool-and-Everton-to-battle-it-out-for-Chelsea-favourite-Salomon-Kalou

Kev and Lukaku are both due back with the squad today, but Kev has been in early to get some one-on-one work done, so hopefully he'll be ready to hit the ground running at Leicester next week: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/kevin-mirallas-line-early-everton-7577074?

I guess Roberto will learn that he shouldn't say he wants 6-7 new bodies in the squad and then potentially change his mind and appear to backtrack later. I would guess that some of that need for fresh blood has been met by the young players he's talking about bringing into the first team squad from the U21s. I had a quick Google to check what he's said and in late March it was six new players and he said, "‘If we get in Europe I think that makes a difference of six players. I always found you can work on a squad of 21 players in the league and for domestic competitions. You need around 27 players plus keepers for Europe. It doesn’t have to be 27 senior players, it can be young players too, but 27." (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2591052/Roberto-Martinez-wants-SIX-new-signings-make-Everton-European-force.html) A month later in late April it was seven new players and he said "‘It’s not about improving the squad, it’s about increasing it. When you are playing in Europe you need six or seven new players. That’s the reality and we will do that. I get excited about bringing new players in. You need fresh blood." (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2614477/Roberto-Martinez-plans-SEVEN-summer-signings-help-Everton-finish-four.html) Fast forward to mid-July and with Gareth Barry signed and Mo Besic on the way, it was down to "three attacking players", of which Lukaku has now signed: “We want to bring in three attacking players,” Martinez said. “We feel that we are OK in terms of goalkeeper and defence, but we definitely want one midfielder and three attackers.” (http://www.dailypost.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/everton-fc-boss-roberto-martinez-7457066) So on that basis we should still be in the market for two more attacking players, which is what most of us seem to agree on. I reckon a winger by this time next week and another forward by the end of the window. I'm guessing that of his initial desire for 6-7 new players, he's decided that the likes of Browning and Garbutt have proved ready to cover a couple of positions, plus Besic has played midfield and defence in his career so maybe he sees that as a bonus. It still leaves us short of the 27 bodies plus keepers he wanted though. We might just have the numbers but there are some very inexperienced ones in there, so I wouldn't be surprised to see at least two loans by the end of the window. I'd also expect to see Henen (if he ever signs) to be pressing for a first team place before the season is over.

Why everyone's a winner: http://shoot.co.uk/lukaku-everyones-a-winner/

Yep, it's hard to predict at this stage with the squad clearly short of a few bodies. With Southampton imploding and no one else catching the eye at present I don't see us finishing lower than 7th but the squad as it stands right now could do with a bit more goal threat. That said, if Ross makes the sort of progress he did last season then he should get double figures, and hopefully the likes of Coleman and Baines will weigh in with similar tallies as last time and Lukaku and Mirallas ought to be capable of more as the team get even more comfortable with RM's tactics. A few more from corners, and a few more from a new winger/forward, and who knows. There was clearly the potential last season to score more and we didn't kill some teams off when we could have done.

I can see Man Utd and the RS swapping places this season. A lot depends on Van Gaal's new signings and system gelling properly when the serious action gets underway though, so I don't think they're an automatic pick for the top 4, and I can see the RS going backwards without Suarez, who they haven't replaced at all. At the moment they remind me of Spurs last season - a big squad with a lot of average PL players, some on the decline, a few decent ones and a couple of good 'uns - and no direct replacement for the star man who was sold. I do think (hope!) they will struggle to replicate last season. At this stage, I think last season's top 7 clubs will be the same again and we'll be 5th/6th but I can see us taking the Europa League really seriously and aiming to get into the Champions League that way. I could see us playing some of the kids in the League Cup as a result so we're not too thinly stretched across all the competitions.

He sounds like the type we should be looking at, but the article reckons they're looking for around £8m and who knows what transfer funds we have left?

It's telling that the loan takes him through to January, when no doubt it will be reviewed by all parties. If he's done well then there's the chance he could be recalled here to play a part in the second half of the season, and if not he'll probably be told to start looking around for a new club. This next few weeks will be a challenge for him but hopefully great experience too.

Just read that ^ and thought it was a decent preview. Rom's comments about having to improve are encouraging because we all know he has to do some things better, and the closing comments about the size of the squad are spot on. Looking forward to seeing how the squad shapes up after the deadline.

If I had a spare scarf I'd send it to you mate, but hopefully now the season is starting again someone will oblige.

I read yesterday that the hold-up is that the clubs can't agree on who pays his wages if he's called up for the ACON, but today's Daily Mail says the point of disagreement is that Chelsea want guarantees about the amount of football he'll get, which we're not prepared to give (quite right too): http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2715460/Christian-Atsu-s-loan-Everton-hits-snag-Chelsea-Chelsea-want-assurances-winger-play.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

Welcome Ben, you made a great choice!

Playing for the U21s at Leeds this afternoon.