Everton's summer spending spree has caught many cold, but not Jose Mourinho. In a recent interview, the Manchester United manager spoke of a cluster of seven sides - including the Goodison Park outfit - who could challenge for trophies this season.
It was the clearest indication yet, together with the heavy investment in the squad and promising news over a stadium move, that the Blues have arrived at the top table.
For while some in the game have chosen to see the signings of Jordan Pickford and Michael Keane from Sunderland and Burnley respectively as a sign that the Blues have once again imposed a glass ceiling upon themselves, Mourinho clearly thinks differently.
“I think another fact is that everybody of the top seven - because I have to put Everton in the top seven - is in Europe next season," he said when asked about the state of play in the English game.
According to the Portuguese, at least, last season's top six has already become a big seven. The theory goes that Everton are now a direct challenger to the likes of United, Arsenal and Chelsea for domestic trophies and European berths.
The Sunday papers seemed to agree with him too. With image everything in the modern game, it was telling that the Sunday People chose to use Wayne Rooney as the sixth figure on the front of their fixture list pull-out ahead of the new campaign instead of a player from rivals Liverpool. The Sunday Mirror placed similar stock on Everton's improvement; this time with both Ronald Koeman and Jurgen Klopp featuring in their season preview. If appearance is indeed everything, then the Blues are quickly getting their message across.
There have been several catalysts for the change in standing. Spending over £165m on new players in just 12 months certainly helps; as does Ronald Koeman's status in the game and the return of a global name in Wayne Rooney. The social media announcement of the latter's return to his boyhood club drew in a combined total of around 3m views, further boosting Everton's profile internationally. Positive strides, too, have been made on the stadium front, meaning the Blues could well leave their beloved but archaic Goodison Park for a state-of-the-art facility on the Liverpool waterfront in time for the 2021-22 season. Everywhere you turn, optimism abounds.
But most important of all when it comes to perception is the fact that the gap is seemingly widening between Everton and the rest of the league - and thus narrowing to the sides above. Last season, Koeman's men finished a staggering 15 points clear of next-best Southampton. Although improvements have been made by the likes of Leicester City and West Ham, the business done at L4 this summer only extends the gap.
Despite the loss of top scorer Romelu Lukaku to Manchester United, the Blues' business on the whole has been sound. Problems such as a lack of goals from midfield and the urgent need for a new goalkeeper have been remedied by the additions of Davy Klaassen and Jordan Pickford. Rooney and bargain signing Sandro Ramirez help compensate for Lukaku's loss. More, in the shape of Gylfi Sigurdsson and Olivier Giroud, could follow. Unless Koeman sacrifices the club's prospects in the league to focus on cup competitions in a similar vein to United last season, it would take a huge leap of faith to predict anyone overhauling them this time around.
Indeed, back in April, West Brom manager Tony Pulis argued that his side were top of a mini-league of 13 sides and unable to compete with those ahead of them.
He said: “Where we are now is the top of our group. We can’t do any better than this. We can’t.
"If people think we can do better than this year after year then let’s get a billionaire in to get some money to spend because we won’t be able to compete.
“Everton will spend massive next year and the other six clubs will spend massive next year."
Of course, on face value, the sale of Romelu Lukaku to Manchester United is ill at odds with the striking positivity of new-era Everton and what they're attempting to convey to their competitors. However, the sale of Lukaku matters little if the club come out of the window with a stronger squad. While once losing a player of the Belgian's calibre would have been the death knell to the Blues' hopes of competing, now there is a genuine belief that they can overcome it.
Just ask Mourinho.
