Toffees boss Moyes will wrap up the £6million signing of Manuel Fernandes over the next couple of days - and is expected now to launch an official bid to bring striker Ayegbeni Yakubu from Middlesbrough for around £11m.

Veteran Carsley accepts Everton must strengthen their squad for a campaign which he hopes will include a serious UEFA Cup run as well as another bid to finish in the top six of the Premier League.

But Carsley knows Moyes will be careful not to damage the close 'family' atmosphere in his squad, who sit top of the league going into tomorrow's trip to Reading.

Carsley says: "Part of the reason for our success is that we have all been playing together for a while now.

"A start like this makes us feel we can repeat our recent successes - top four two seasons ago, sixth last season.

"One of our strengths is that we are all close - there is a great atmosphere among the players. There are no massive stars around - we just have a lot of good players.

"It is up to the manager to get the right players in. He could sign six foreigners tomorrow if he wanted to - but it is important to be choosey and get the right people.

"They have to fit straight in; if we sign someone they don't get a year to fit in - they have to play at a good level straightaway."

Fernandes completed his medical today, and Moyes expects him to become an Everton player "within the next 24 hours or so".

Although the contracts are likely to be signed soon, the paper-work will take longer.

A complicated deal involving third-party ownership means far more documentation - and everything must be scrutinised by the Premier League, in the wake of the Carlos Tevez scandal.

The same companies that brought Tevez and Javier Mascherano to West Ham are involved in the Fernandes deal.

Next on the list could be Yakubu, the Nigerian striker left out of Middlesbrough's party travelling to London to face Fulham tomorrow.

On Fernandes, Carsley said: "Manuel is a great talent; he knows about us and worked really hard to get his fitness when he was here last season.

"For us to sign a player who is the best talent to come out of Portugal for a couple of years is a great boost for us."