Bremen 0-0 Everton: New signing Delph injured as Toffees limp to goalless draw

Everton limped to a goalless draw against Bundesliga side Werder Bremen in their final pre-season friendly.

Moise Kean is on the brink of becoming Everton’s latest signing and the business cannot happen too soon for Marco Silva.

This has been a barren pre-season, with only a smattering of goals, and Everton’s head coach saw the final game before the real business begins end with another blank, this time in Germany.

Everton have only scored three times during summer and Kean, the 19-year-old Juventus forward, will assume big responsibilities when his £30million switch is completed following a medical.

Silva could do with a positive start to the Premier League, having shown flickers of improvement in the second of last season, but he is a realist and will appreciate this squad is a work in progress. They need additions other than Kean and Jean-Phillipe Gbamin, the Mainz midfielder, to arrive before Thursday’s deadline to bolster their hopes of being contenders for the top six.

He has been active in the market so far but one of his purchases, Fabian Delph, has given him cause for anxiety after he was substituted in the fifth minute with what seemed to be a ground issue. The former Manchester City midfielder immediately signalled to the bench after making a challenge and he will now be assessed.

The first half saw the return to action of Richarlison, who enjoyed such an excellent first season at Goodison Park. The Brazilian, who helped his country win the Copa America in July, looked sharp after a week’s training and fired in a couple of shots that forced Bremen keeper Jiri Pavlenka into action. He can be expected to improve again over the next 12 months.

There were other openings too, primarily for Dominic Calvert-Lewin, and the general state of Everton’s play between the areas is good. They are well organised, don’t concede many chances and they look a physically strong team. Organisation, however, will only get you so far and that is why Silva really needs Everton’s attack to be given some oomph.

The theme continued in the second half. Everton were a little more open than Silva would have wished but the only time the hosts threatened was when they had two free-kicks on the edge of the area but both were wasted and Jordan Pickford, the England goalkeeper, was rarely troubled. Everton never looked in danger of conceding.

But a win before next Saturday’s opener at Selhurst Park, though, would have been gratefully received, not least to reward the 2000 fans who had come to Germany for a day out. The simple truth is that they should have run comfortable victors, as they had carved out a succession of chances as their superior fitness told in the closing stages.

Much to Silva’s evident frustration, they were all wasted: Theo Walcott fired two shots straight at Pavlenka; Lucas Digne had an effort hacked off the line following a thrilling burst down the left flank with Bernard, while Andre Gomes thought he had won it at the death with a left-volley that appeared to wrong-foot Pavlenka before he desperately grasped the ball.

To get an idea of how much Silva is frustrated by Everton’s lack of goals, he held a long - and animated - debrief with Calvert-Lewin after the final whistle, showing him the areas in which he needs to improve.

He is not the only one. Everton need goals from everywhere.