Everton returned to Premier League action with a rather tame draw in the Merseyside derby.

A goalless stalemate played out at Goodison Park as the Toffees struggled to find the back of the net.

However, they should take comfort from not conceding against one of the most prolific attacks in Europe.

Carlo Ancelotti has seemingly stemmed the flow since arriving at Goodison Park and all of a sudden, they look like a team that in the near future, could soon achieve his ambitions of playing on the continental stage.

First, however, they will have to overcome the challenge of bottom-placed Norwich on Wednesday evening.

Who they sign in the transfer market will ultimately have a huge say on whether they can put themselves amongst the best in the country next season, and improving from a defensive standpoint will help too.

The Toffees have conceded more goals than Arsenal, Brighton and Newcastle so there is clearly a tneed for change. 

Perhaps a player from Barcelona could help them in their quest.

Todibo

Everton have been targeting Jean-Clair Todibo in recent weeks with Ancelotti's men installed as favourites.

However, there has since been an update on their progress to sign the central defender.

Sport are reporting that the Toffees have a loose agreement in place to sign him for €25m including add ons (£22.5m), but there is one sticking point.

That happens to be that Todibo and Barcelona are holding out for a better offer from another Premier League club or elsewhere. At the moment, it would appear he is staying in Catalonia.

GIVEMESPORT'S Matt Dawson says...

The 20-year-old is currently on loan at Schalke where he's been in and out of the side since arriving, playing the full 90 minutes on just two occasions.

However, at his young age, he is a mightily impressive looking central defender.

Todibo's general reading of the game is the most eye-catching part, winning 1.9 tackles per game and making the same number of interceptions per match in the Bundesliga.

The biggest sign of aggression and a clear indication of his willingness to get stuck in came during a Champions League encounter for Barcelona.

He made a colossal eight tackles and four clearances against Inter earlier this season.

Matching his stats against those already at Everton, there are some clear differences. No central defender in the squad makes more tackles per game with Mason Holgate sitting the highest on 1.7 per outing.

On that evidence alone, he'd add some fiery steel to Ancelotti's backline.