Amadou Onana is too young for the weight of expectation that could fall upon his shoulders.
The defeat to Aston Villa was further evidence of what is already known - Everton need to strengthen and his signature can not be the only solution. But across 30 chaotic seconds he offered a glimpse of courage and character that showed why Frank Lampard and director of football Kevin Thelwell were so keen to secure one of Europe's most promising young talents.
Just minutes into his debut the 20-year-old was dispossessed on the halfway line for the move that led to Villa's second goal. It was a cruel introduction to life in the Premier League. His head could have dropped. It did not. Instead his response was to show for the ball at the first opportunity.
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When he received it he drove at a Villa defence unable to prevent him from reaching the byline. He turned Diego Carlos and sent in a cross that was bundled in by former Blue Lucas Digne. The attack was an act of bravery that highlighted the talent the former Lille man has on the ball - and perhaps offered a glimpse of the maturity that led to him wearing the captain's armband for Belgium's Under-21s.
It was also a moment that also offered Everton a lifeline, a route to a draw that he almost found as he latched onto a Salomon Rondon knock-down in the closing seconds. He could not scramble the ball beyond Emiliano Martinez, however, and Everton fell to a second frustrating defeat of a season already blighted by injury.
After 90 minutes at Villa Park it is clear that what happens on the pitch between now and September 1 is a sideshow. The games against Nottingham Forest, Brentford and Leeds United are important. They will be markers against which Lampard can begin to judge his side as they head into a daunting set of fixtures. They will be crucial to gaining a foothold in the season and offering evidence progress is being made at Goodison Park and Finch Farm.
But if Everton are to compete beyond the end of the transfer window the club needs to find a striker. And they would clearly benefit from strengthening in central midfield. Both of those issues were clear before the defeat to Aston Villa. Both of those are issues known to Lampard and Thelwell.
The solution to the second of those problems could come from within the squad. Onana showed promise and resolve but will need patience and support in his debut season in the Premier League. In centre midfield Alex Iwobi, too versatile to ever be considered as playing out of position, has been at the heart of many of the better moments of Everton's first two games.
Tom Davies returned from injury and a crucial tackle to stop a rampaging Ollie Watkins showcased what he could do. Yet this match only worsened an already difficult situation as Abdoulaye Doucoure joined Everton's growing injury list by picking up a knock that appeared to stop him from playing a greater role in preventing Danny Ings' opener.
While there are, in theory, several options that could eventually ease Everton's midfield vulnerability the answer probably lies in the transfer market and a decision may soon have to be made over whether to continue efforts to bring Idrissa Gueye back to Everton or look elsewhere as his potential move risks developing into a saga.
The solution to the club's issues up top certainly lies in the final weeks of transfer activity. Lampard believed Everton had an attacking "void" even before the chastening injury to key man Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The defeat to Chelsea and this performance against Villa highlighted that further. Rondon caused the Villa backline problems after his second half introduction but Lampard did not feel able to start the Venezuela target man. Even if that was a call on his fitness rather than form, he is not the clinical poacher Everton need to find - one unlikely to come from the academy with Ellis Simms, Lewis Dobbin and Nathan Broadhead all now out on loan. As with the efforts to strengthen the midfield, that Everton are in need of another striker is already known within the club.
The story of the first half was much the same as that of the opening day defeat to Chelsea: defensive solidity, injuries and a lack of ruthlessness. While Villa largely controlled the ball they created few chances, their favoured route to attack through the impressive Jacob Ramsey on the hosts' left flank and balls over the top that attempted to target space behind Vitalii Mykolenko. On the stroke of half-time Ramsey pulled a delicious ball across the face of Pickford's goal but there was no-one there to finish. It was through the over-the-top route that Ollie Watkins cleverly brought down a long ball and crossed only for the Blues to clear. In between those attacks came the crucial moment, however. Watkins broke free down Everton's left, delayed his ball until it found the onrushing Danny Ings. Ings appeared to have taken the chance from Ramsey but was able to turn and fire past Jordan Pickford despite the attention of Doucoure, who left the pitch in discomfort shortly after.
Everton did create opportunities. The most glaring fell to Demarai Gray after he was picked out, yards from goal, by an Iwobi cross. But in scenes that echoed Dele Alli's big chance against Chelsea, instead of shooting, Gray attempted to control the ball and had it taken from him by Martinez. While the game was goalless Dwight McNeil had a glorious chance to thread Gray through on goal but overhit the pass. That incident mirrored Gray's effort to play Anthony Gordon through on goal last week that was blocked by the covering defender. Gordon fought hard and should have earned a free-kick after Tyrone Mings' outstretched arm stopped him from passing beyond the defender. Instead he was once again a frustrated figure despite his efforts to lead from the front. Like with Onana, there is a danger of placing too much pressure on the shoulders of talented but still-developing young star.
Everton started the second half brightly. Nathan Patterson turned Digne on the edge of the box and won a free-kick in a dangerous position. Davies halted Watkins with a crucial tackle as Villa countered before Gray cut inside and fired straight at Martinez. But the hosts once again dominated possession as Everton struggled to exert any form of control in the middle. They looked set to see out a 1-0 win until the frantic finale that saw Emiliano Buendia double that lead before Onana's impressive response created an end-to-end finish in which both sides had chances. Everton did not finish those that fell to them. The crucial search for someone who can will now continue. Along with support in midfield, it has to be the priority until the transfer window closes..
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