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Everton boss Marco Silva has revealed that one of the first things he did after arriving on Merseyside was to hand the club a list of left-back targets he desired. 

The Liverpool Echo reports that the Portuguese boss was intent on signing competition for Leighton Baines above all other positions. 

Silva, formerly of Watford and Hull, discussed his targets with Director of Football Marcel Brands and other members of the board. 

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He initially wanted Celtic's Kieran Tierney, but was put off by the Scottish champions' valuation and walked away in the early stages of discussions. 

In the end, the Toffees settled on the £18m signing of Barcelona left-back Lucas Digne on a five-year deal, who has enjoyed a decent start to life at Goodison Park. 

Silva said: "Of course, when we looked at our squad and we analysed everything, we did our job and straight away I put on the table my targets.

"When we start working with our players you can sometimes change your analysis once you start working with the players in pre-season.

"But it was clear what our targets were and the positioned we needed to strengthen."

Silva is yet to see his career at Everton really take off. In five Premier League games so far this season, the Portuguese boss has overseen one win, three draws and a loss. 

Most recently, the Toffees endured an abysmal home defeat to previously winless West Ham, suggesting that the players are yet to really absorb Silva's methods. 

Their next game sees them face a tough test when they travel to the Emirates to take on an Arsenal side who have seemingly found a bit of form after an inconsistent start. Silva could really do with a win to ease the pressure on him, but it will be not be an easy feat away against Unai Emery's squad.