Dream big: though it’s advertised on a maroon billboard in gold letters, the message resonates with those starting anew on a Blue journey.

These words aren’t crafted by Everton’s marketing department. Instead, they relate to the transformation of the historic Tobacco Warehouse—the largest globally at its inception in 1901—into upscale residences. However, it perfectly captures the moment for Everton to aspire to great heights.

The Hill Dickinson Stadium, a dazzling new addition to the waterfront at over £500 million, is set to be packed close to its 52,888 capacity this Saturday when Everton wraps up preparations for the upcoming season. The atmosphere promises to be electrifying.

‘I’m eager to step inside,’ expresses lifelong Everton fan Claire Hill as she admires the stadium shimmering under the midday sun. ‘I skipped the first two test events because I want to experience it at its best, filled with fans, vibrant and full of spirit.’

‘For 30 years, my match-day memories were at Goodison with my parents. After my dad passed away, we have a memorial stone with his name at this new stadium. It makes me feel connected to him as I now attend matches with my son, Ethan. It marks a new beginning for us.’

However, some external observers are skeptical about the club’s internal operations. During a hectic three-game tour in the U.S. last week, David Moyes appeared stern when discussing Everton’s transfer dealings.

Things hadn’t been helped by results. A 1-1 draw with Accrington Stanley, preceded defeats by Blackburn, Bournemouth and West Ham and Moyes, impatient to drag the club he loves forward into the realms where he believes it should be, didn’t hold back.

‘We’re not ready to start the Premier League season,” said Moyes. ‘I’m not overly concerned (by the results) because I don’t have the players I need and I want. We’re up against it right from the start. We knew before we came to the US we were going to be really up against it.

‘It was never going to be us coming here and winning games. Our attacking play, at the moment, has been really poor. We haven’t created enough chances. I’ve never had one of these times. In the past, I have had to sign a lot of players, but I’ve never had to do so many in one window.’

Perhaps not but Moyes is a wise, old head in these situations and, it must be stressed, this is a new Everton: the largesse and naivety of the Farhad Moshiri era, when the wrong individuals were bought for too much money, won’t be tolerated now under new owners, the Friedkin Group.

To date, Everton have brought in five players: Thierno Barry, a striker from Villarreal, Bournemouth goalkeeper Mark Travers; Adam Aznou, a young left back from Bayern Munich; Carlos Alcaraz, who enjoyed a successful loan spell last season, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall from Chelsea.

There will, however, be more. Jack Grealish is being pursued vigorously and would be the kind of addition that could light up Hill Dickinson Stadium, a genuine star. He would benefit from working with Moyes, too, as while much would be asked of him, he’d be made to feel a million dollars.

Moyes has always wanted to give his squads the best of everything and he ensured one of the places they stayed in America was Manhattan, so the group could have time to bond and enjoy a meal in New York. Spirit has always been crucial at Everton and Moyes wants to create the best environment.

Grealish will know this but he has other options. Napoli want to take him from Manchester City and Atletico Madrid have tested the water. Both can offer Champions League football. Can they, though, offer a fanbase who would adore him from the start and will him onto show-stopping performances?

Talks will continue, primarily around salaries and fees. Grealish may initially have been reticent about Everton’s interest but Moyes is persuasive and it would be no surprise if, towards the end of the window, the England international becomes one of an influx of additions.

Interest in Aston Villa captain John McGinn is strong. The situation isn’t straightforward, as Villa don’t want to sell, but profit and sustainability concerns may force them to offload at some point and the Scottish dynamo has all the characteristics to lift a team and dressing room. In many ways, he is a perfect Moyes player.

Everton had an overhaul of their technical department in the summer, stepping away from their old director of football model to a ‘leadership structure’ with new chief executive Angus Kinnear, who arrived from Leeds, sanctioning four appointments.

Highly rated former Manchester United academy director Nick Cox was brought in to be technical director; James Smith will become the new director of scouting and recruitment after leaving Manchester City; Chris Howarth will direct Everton’s football strategy & analytics operations and Nick Hammond is leading the player trading activity.

Of that quartet, Smith’s appointment is significant. He had a huge influence during Moyes’s first spell at the club in terms of recruitment and was instrumental in identifying several players who helped secure a string of top six finishes. His judgment is outstanding; his work ethic is impeccable.

Another key figure who will be involved going forward is the much-respected Mick Doherty, a scout whom Moyes trusts. Doherty recently spent two seasons working with Atalanta and his rich CV includes time at Chelsea, Sunderland and Celtic.

Getting the foundations right is vital for Everton and while, inevitably, there have been early teething troubles, there is a sense of calm amongst the fanbase. It doesn’t take much for anger to blow up in their corner of social media when things aren’t going well but this summer has been calm.

Leeds away is the first game, on the opening Monday night of the season, before Hill Dickinson Stadium finally opens its doors for a competitive game for the first time on August 24 against Brighton.

‘I feel this is our chance for the club to have a new dawn,’ says Craig Harrison, a fan of 40 years, who breaks off from admiring a wonderful echo of the past with his wife, Helen – Alan Ball’s famous white boots in a glass case – in the new club store to discussing the future.

‘I want this to be the period when we go and win something. It’s been 30 years, a lifetime for so many fans.

‘I’ve been a bit frustrated after some of the pre-season games but only about the results. I don’t mind us taking time about transfers. We have got to get them right from now.’

The overwhelming feeling is that they will. Dewsbury-Hall, for instance, is a terrific addition. Always highly regarded by Brendan Rodgers, when they worked together at Leicester, the interview he gave after his arrival from Stamford Bridge was a reminder of how special joining Everton should be.

‘Everton’s one of the biggest clubs in the country, and I think that in the next couple of years, the future is going to be bright,’ he enthused. ‘It was an easy decision in the end to come here and play for this club. Just sitting here in the stadium, it’s unbelievable.’

It certainly is: £50million was invested in preserving the heritage, such as the bollards to which ships would be tied up and the tramlines that would whisk cargo away.  Liverpool’s waterfront has always been synonymous as a gateway to new frontiers and pursuing big dreams.

‘This is life-changing,’ says Rachel Flood, whose mum, Angela Burns, has run the Bramley Moore pub opposite the stadium for 33 years.

‘We are a family of Blues and we have watched the stadium go up, brick-by-brick over the last five years and it’s just been incredible.

‘It felt like every other day, you would see something new and be like: “Oh wow! Look at that now!” Everyone is going to be welcome here.

‘We want to see more bars and places to eat in the area, more people coming to enjoy this part of town. We’ve waited so long for it. Now it’s finally here.’

And so, too, is the moment for Everton to dream big.