Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall says the constant predictions of an Everton relegation fight during the summer window left him irritated, insisting the club's starting eleven is good enough to challenge for Europe this season. The 28-year-old midfielder said the outside noise around Everton's turbulent transfer business had got to him more than he expected.

He felt irritated because supporters and pundits wrote Everton off as certain to struggle after a summer of missed targets and boardroom tension. "I've seen all of the stuff, all the meltdowns, in all honesty it annoyed me a bit," Dewsbury-Hall said.

That reaction did not come from nowhere. Everton endured what was widely regarded as the toughest close season of any Premier League club, missing out on the majority of David Moyes's key transfer targets and leaving the manager with a squad short of cover in several positions.

It was bad enough to shake fan trust in the ownership. The Friedkin Group's attempt to sell academy prospect Harrison Armstrong angered supporters, while Iliman Ndiaye was let go during the same window, thinning Moyes's options further.

Against that backdrop, Dewsbury-Hall's own arrival two seasons ago from Leicester City, after a spell on the fringes of Enzo Maresca's squad at Chelsea, has taken on extra weight. He has become one of the leaders Moyes now relies on to keep the group together.

He has been voted into Everton's new leadership group, sitting alongside captain James Tarkowski, goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and midfielder James Garner. Dewsbury-Hall was asked to speak to that group in a meeting held after transfer deadline day, when Moyes told his senior players to shut out the criticism from outside the dressing room.

  • Leadership group: James Tarkowski (captain), Jordan Pickford, James Garner, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall

Dewsbury-Hall believes so, pointing to a run in March when victory over Chelsea left Everton just three points off the Champions League places, before results dipped and the club slipped to thirteenth. "I know we've got a smaller squad but we've got some really good players." he said.

The current form backs some of that confidence. Everton sit eighth in the Premier League table, which fans can follow on our standings page, on five points from three games, unbeaten in their last five matches with two wins and three draws, having drawn 2-2 with Manchester United on Saturday, 6 September, in a match where Everton fought back through late goals from T. George and A. Maitland-Niles after B. Mbeumo and B. Sesko had put United ahead. That leaves the club four points behind leaders Manchester City, with a goal difference of plus two after five goals scored and three conceded.

Dewsbury-Hall received a text message last week informing him he is on a long list of players being monitored by England manager Thomas Tuchel ahead of the upcoming international camp, the closest he has come to a senior call-up. Christian Norgaard remains sidelined, ahead of Everton's next fixture, which fans can check on our fixtures page, at home to Ipswich Town on Saturday, 19 September, with Ipswich currently fourteenth in the table.