Everton are starting to put together their pre-season campaign ahead of the 2017/18 season. With the Premier League season only coming to a close a number full of days ago, the Blues are already focused on next season.

Ronald Koeman’s side will report for pre-season training on July 3rd as they prepare for a Europa League qualification campaign that begins only a few weeks later.

They will reportedly forego their annual trip to Austria for a pre-season camp instead opting for Holland and three games against Dutch opposition with at least one of them being played at a neutral venue.

The Blues have already confirmed that their annual final pre-season game at Goodison Park will be played against La Liga side, Sevilla. Whilst the former Europa League champions may be searching for their second manager in as many summers, they will be headed to Merseyside on Sunday August 6th.

Koeman’s side have also confirmed a pre-season trip to Tanzania where they will play the winner of the inaugural SportPesa Super Cup. The trip to Africa on July 13th is in conjunction with the Blues newest shirt sponsorship with the online gaming company, SportPesa following a club delegation travelling to Tanzania earlier this year.

Europa League preparations

Everton’s pre-season campaign will also be bolstered by at least two Europa League qualification games. The Blues enter the tournament at the third qualifying stage and whilst the draw will be made on July 14th, Koeman’s side will play their first leg on July 27th.

The Blues are likely to be one of the seeded teams in the qualifying stages, meaning they are likely to face weaker opposition but they will not want to let a European campaign slip away before the beginning of the Premier League season.

If Everton progress from the third round of qualifying, they will play a further two legs in the Play-Off round of qualifying with the first leg coming on August 17th. The second leg would be played a week later on August 24th with the draw for the Play-Off round being made on August 4th.

Going Dutch?

Everton will also reportedly head to Holland in preparation for those Europa League ties. Koeman’s side will apparently play PEC Zwolle on July 16th, FC Twente on July 19th and then FC Groningen on July 22nd.

With the first leg of the Europa League qualifiers scheduled for a week later, it’s a perfect time for the Dutchman’s side to start to hit a patch of momentum before the meaningful games of pre-season begin.

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About the author
Connor Bennett
Everton editor for VAVEL UK - contributing since 2015. Premier League accredited journalist. Journalism graduate from Liverpool. Writing about Football, eSports and the NFL. Email: [email protected] | Twitter: ConnorBennett14