Debate: Can Everton crack the top 4 next season?

Ronald Koeman's Everton squad is back at its Finch Farm training complex ahead of the 2017-18 season, and there are some new faces trotting out onto the Merseyside pitches.

The Toffees' summer spend is approaching £100 million as they look to forge a shortcut from seventh place to the top four. Each signing boasts impressive pedigree considering their relatively tender years, and puts Everton in good stead for years to come - but can the newcomers yield instant results and deliver Champions League football next term?

Here, theScore's Daniel Rouse and Carlo Campo make the case for both sides of the argument.

No, Everton's still some way short of the league's elite

Rouse: When comparing the team which started last season with the one that could start the 2017-18 campaign, there's no doubting the latter is remarkably better.

Starting XI vs. Tottenham, August 2016: Stekelenburg; Holgate, Jagielka, Funes Mori, Baines; Gueye, Barry; McCarthy, Barkley, Mirallas; Deulofeu

Potential starting XI vs. Stoke City, August 2017: Pickford; Holgate, Jagielka, Keane, Baines; Schneiderlin, Davies, Gueye; Klaassen; Sandro, Lukaku

In 23-year-old Jordan Pickford, Koeman has spent up to £30 million on a goalkeeper who managed to be one of the Premier League's standout players at wretched Sunderland, and who boasts the distribution to unleash the quick attacks his Dutch boss favours. Michael Keane and Davy Klaassen are also exciting buys, and Sandro Ramirez was a cheap risk at €6 million.

But only Pickford and Keane would consistently challenge for minutes at Manchester City and Liverpool out of the sides heading into the Champions League, and, with plenty of time to go in the transfer window, Everton's majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri's remaining riches are far short of the transfer kitties of those in Europe's elite competition.

Beyond those competing in that tournament, Europa League-bound Arsenal is putting the final touches on a £52-million deal for Alexandre Lacazette. Everton cannot compete.

To make matters worse, it's difficult to envision Romelu Lukaku pledging his loyalty to the Toffees when he was hankering for a move over a year ago. Twenty-five league goals is hard to find - just look at Manchester City's inadequate striking purchases between Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus.

Yes, a top-four finish is achievable

Campo: Bridging the gap is one thing. Cracking the Premier League's top four is another. Agreed. But that doesn't mean Everton's supporters aren't allowed to dream about the Champions League. The Toffees can do it, regardless of what shirt Lukaku is sporting come the season's first matchday.

My distinguished colleague believes that only two of Everton's major signings - Pickford and Keane - would find minutes at next season's Champions League clubs. That hardly seems fair. Maybe he was too busy drooling over Gabriel Jesus to notice what Sandro was doing at Malaga CF, where the Spanish forward tallied 14 goals, more than Neymar and Karim Benzema, who had Lionel Messi and Isco to rely upon, respectively.

Don't be surprised if Sandro proves to be the bargain of the season and scores more goals than a number of strikers from the Premier League's elite.

As for Arsenal, Lacazette will be a welcome addition to the Gunners' firepower, but Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could all be on their way out. Furthermore, until their futures are sorted out, it will be hard for the club to wheel in targets in the summer transfer window. For now, at least, it seems ludicrous to suggest that Arsenal will finish above Everton.

Leicester City proved that there isn't always a correlation between money and the standings, and, while Everton isn't as much of an underdog as the Foxes, the Toffees are more than capable of attaining a top-four finish.

You decide