Everton summer transfer window was worth the wait

Everton summer transfer window was worth the wait - what comes next could be special

Everton correspondent Joe Thomas believes this season could well be a rollercoaster - and that not everything will go right. But the foundations have been laid for the club to start looking up after years of struggle

Everton manager David Moyes celebrates following the Premier League win at Wolverhampton Wanderers. Photo by Malcolm Couzens/Getty Images

And breathe. The summer transfer window is over and a new era is truly upon Everton.

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David Moyes says he has been working non-stop since the Blues ended last season with a win in the sunshine at St James’ Park. His world looks very different now.

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This was always going to be a busy summer and it was never going to be an easy one. Recognising the sheer scale of change at Everton is important when attempting to judge the efforts of the past three months. The squad needed rebuilding, a new-look leadership team would arrive in stages (and still is) and an emotional, historic move to the Liverpool waterfront had to be managed. Not every ambition has been ticked off. But Everton’s squad is stronger and the club has laid foundations that should give it a chance at sustaining progress into the mid-term both on and off the pitch.

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There is plenty to be excited about - not least how much fun this season *could be*. The win at Wolves at the weekend may well have been a glimpse of what the campaign will look and feel like: Flashes of brilliance and technical proficiency the likes of which has been absent for years - this team has the potential to be more School of Science than Dogs of War.

But there remains a fragility about a side that is still vulnerable in certain areas and, as Moyes conceded when I asked him after the game at Molineux, there will also be teething problems as a squad so used to fighting for survival attempts to blossom into one that can do more than defend its way to victory.

Just how much can be achieved this season is tough to decipher but, for the first time in five years the club should be able to avoid a flirtation with relegation and supporters should get the chance to spend the campaign being entertained in the comparatively luxurious surroundings of Hill Dickinson Stadium as opposed to organising coach welcomes and battle cries to help drag their team to safety. That is progress.

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The signing of Jack Grealish is comfortably the biggest talking point of the window. His availability was clear at the start of the summer with Manchester City dropping him from prominence so hard he did not make the Club World Cup squad. Moyes had no issue with the prospect of bringing in a star this summer - his message since his return in January has been that, to start competing with those at the top end of the table, Everton needed to begin thinking and acting like them. He sees genuine value in Blues fans having something to thrill them and the 29-year-old has done just that.

Grealish ended Saturday afternoon wrapped in the arms of a supporter in the away end after he went over to celebrate with a crowd that had already fallen in love with him. ‘It was like a UFC chokehold,’ said Grealish: “Bless them, it was unbelievable. What can I say? That’s what it’s about – that’s what you want from fans.”

This already has the makings of a match worth the £12m it will cost Everton. There were fears his drop-off would continue on Merseyside and this is still early days. Four assists across two Premier League matches have made him an immediate talisman, however. There was a belief the interests of Grealish, desperate to prove himself and force his way into the England set-up in time for the World Cup next summer, could align with those of a club that wanted to be upwardly mobile. If he continues his electric start then he could well be part of Thomas Tuchel’s squad when the next international break comes in October. There are no doubt clubs across Europe bemoaning their reservations about adding his stardust to their squads.

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Like Grealish, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall arrived donning silverware after his excursions in Chelsea’s Europa Conference League and Club World Cup successes. Moyes was keen on the midfielder in January and his arrival earlier this month signalled a change in pace in Everton’s business - one Moyes had pushed for after being disappointed by a slow start to work in the window. The 26-year-old has already formed a partnership with Grealish, a friend off the pitch who, with Jordan Pickford, worked to convince the one-time £100m man to join them at Finch Farm.

At £25m his move was an interesting one, particularly given that, with Grealish, Everton appeared to be loading up on attacking midfielders who preferred to operate between the middle and the left - an area that, with Iliman Ndiaye and Dwight McNeil, the club started the summer with depth in. It then added to that immediately by striking a £12.5m deal to make Carlos Alcaraz a permanent signing after his successful loan move from Flamengo ended with his match-winning performance at Newcastle.

That said, competition is no bad thing - one of the marks of Everton’s struggle to compete over recent years has been the strength of the opposition bench in comparison to that of the Blues. A regular feature through recent years has been the difficulty faced by Everton as a rival manager freshens up their XI with expensively-acquired talent through the second half while the Blues have had to make do with a core group of 12 to 13 players. Going forward at least, that is now a thing of the past.

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The strength in depth will also help across Christmas and New Year, when Iliman Ndiaye could miss as many as seven games should Senegal go deep into the Africa Cup of Nations. The imbalance with the right wing was a source of concern throughout, though. After loanees Jack Harrison and Jesper Lindstrom returned to their parent clubs, this became the priority area for the summer. It also became the toughest spot to fill. It was not for want of trying.

It is right wing more than ever where Moyes was referring to when he recalled how challenging it was to convince players to buy into the Everton project. He wanted to maintain a threshold of quality but that meant honing in on players who wanted more than just first team football in the Premier League. Francisco Conceicao went to Juventus, Johan Bakayoko to RB Leipzig, Malick Fofana stayed at Lyon. Ben Doak was an early consideration but concerns about what Liverpool would require for the signature of a player who had been troubled with injury influenced that call. He later joined Bournemouth for £25m.

The club’s frustration over Fofana, who wanted European football, led to Everton attempting to target players more effectively. They correctly believed Southampton were open to business and that Tyler Dibling wanted to move, but underestimated the Saints’ willingness to negotiate and became trapped in protracted negotiations they walked away from after a third bid, one for a package that could have reached £37.5m, was rejected.

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Abdul Fatawu was considered as Dibling was re-integrated into Will Still’s side having missed the opening games of the season amid the interest from Merseyside, but Everton eventually got their man. The interest was always there but it needed the south coast club to return to the table and the Blues’ position was vindicated. A £35m deal that could rise to £40m was a morale-boosting success that was much-needed after a disappointing start to the campaign that ended in defeat at Leeds United. Everton’s need for an option on the right had been evident through the summer and the club addressed it with a supremely talented 19-year-old. It is also evident that, despite his success historically being from the left and the middle, Moyes sees Ndiaye as an option on the right. His two goals so far are unlikely to have dissuaded him.

Finding the balance between a side that can compete now and grow with the ambitions for the future was a thread that ran through the recruitment process. It was decided early on, particularly after Everton lost the battle to sign Liam Delap from Ipswich Town for his £30m relegation release clause, the club would not spend a major portion of its summer budget on a high profile forward. Moyes has had his frustrations with Beto but the striker came good for him when injuries left him as the only option through his opening weeks.

Moyes said at the time, and still retains this view, that the Guinea-Bissau forward’s ability to plunder eight Premier League goals in a misfiring side, often as second choice, deserved recognition. In the absence of a major forward signing, Moyes’ work turned to providing Beto with a supporting cast that could make his life easier by scoring goals while also creating more for him. The season has started well on that front, with Beto opening his account last week and Ndiaye, Dewsbury-Hall and James Garner chipping in.

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That approach also gave Everton the freedom to invest in potential, which they have done with Thierno Barry. It is hoped the France Under-21s international will develop into a star on Merseyside and Moyes ended the window comfortable with the idea of the pair providing competition and cover for each other - declaring last week he “absolutely had faith” in them. That belief extended to a willingness to allow Youssef Chermiti to be sold to Rangers after two years in which he struggled to get minutes at Everton. Moyes is set to play one up front and believes Ndiaye can also operate in that position if required. There was no late interest in adding Jamie Vardy, who instead moved to Serie A. Nor was there interest in Evan Ferguson, who was repeatedly linked at the start of the window but ended up at Roma.

Dibling, Barry and Alcaraz, along with 19-year-old Adam Aznou represent a group of young players who are expected to improve and develop within the Everton set-up.

Along with Jarrad Branthwaite, whose new long-term deal was another highpoint of the summer, and Jake O’Brien, it is hoped there is a youthful core that can flourish together and carry Everton to a sustained assault on the European places once this period of transition is over. The addition of Merlin Rohl, a 23-year-old German youth international, from Freiburg on deadline day added to that group. Rohl has had injury issues and his career has been spent across different positions in the middle.

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He became a target with Moyes desperate to add another body in central midfield after the start to the season exposed Everton’s vulnerability there. The side was, and still perhaps is, too reliant on Idrissa Gueye, who is about to turn 36 and will head to AFCON with international teammate Ndiaye later this year.

Rohl offers Everton another option in the centre alongside James Garner and Tim Iroegbunam and, having been on the club’s radar for some time, his availability became attractive after late interest in Tomas Soucek was rebuffed. John McGinn had been a player Moyes was tempted by earlier in the summer but Aston Villa had little intention of selling their captain, while Josh Brownhill was not a target despite leaving Burnley last month. He is yet to sign for a new club.

Royal Blue newsletter - subscribe now The Royal Blue podcast logo The Liverpool ECHO has launched the Royal Blue newsletter - the latest way to get the inside track on the Blues. Created by Everton correspondent Joe Thomas, it will provide in-depth insight on the major talking points - on and off the pitch - through an exciting, historic period for the club as the first team moves to the Hill Dickinson Stadium and Everton Women enter Goodison Park. The idea is to step away from the treadmill of press conferences and player ratings and instead offer a glimpse behind the scenes at the club - and on Joe's travels up and down the country following Everton. Royal Blue is delivered to your inbox every Wednesday and completely free. To take a look and subscribe, check it out here

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Rohl will offer Moyes a physical presence in the middle of the pitch and his season-long loan will almost certainly become permanent given the £18m obligation to do so is based on, according to Freiburg, Everton avoiding relegation. Whether he was the perfect fit for Everton’s current needs was not necessarily the driving factor in his deal. He is versatile and the Blues, who needed another figure who could offer support in the middle, will hope he can adapt as required given his ability to play across the central positions. His arrival also freed up Harrison Armstrong to depart on loan, with Moyes viewing first team football as crucial to the progress of a star in the making.

Alongside central midfield, it was the defence where Moyes’ attention turned to once Dibling solved the right wing conundrum. A right back has long been needed and the failure to sign a specialist option in that position is the most glaring omission of the window. It is one that threatens to leave the side imbalanced but Moyes does take comfort from O’Brien’s consistency out there. Like with last year, there is also a belief that Garner, Nathan Patterson and Seamus Coleman is a big enough supporting cast for Everton to muddle through.

Addressing every issue in the squad was always going to be too much for one transfer window and Everton now face another season relying on a makeshift option in an important position, though.

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There was a desire to change that and the club believed it was on the verge of signing Kenny Tete only for Fulham to improve their offer amid the Blues’ interest and the defender opted to remain at Craven Cottage. Everton did have an interest in Wesley but he ended up joining the Blues’ sister club Roma. Moyes did not pursue a reunion with Vladimir Coufal after he left West Ham.

Moyes started to make peace with the right back situation amid injuries on the left side of his defence. The loss of Branthwaite, who remains out, and Vitalii Mykolenko, who has since returned, played a significant role in the disappointment at Leeds. The injury to Aznou exacerbated the problems - though he found the final friendly tough and is seen as a player for the future. That did cause Moyes to consider options on the left side of the defence, players who could potentially cover centre back and left back.

It marked a change in plan from earlier in the window, when talks led to a breakthrough with Michael Keane. He had been due to leave the club and Everton lined up a replacement for him but pulled out of that deal when it became apparent a new deal for Keane could be achieved, providing Moyes with a semblance of stability and continuity. His presence has been important across the start of the season in Branthwaite’s absence and with O’Brien required on the right.

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Those late June deals proved crucial, with Coleman extending his stay by a year - an ambition of Moyes, who was eager to be able to call upon his leadership during a summer of transition, including the stadium move. Retaining Gueye was also crucial, though the gap between club and player was too significant to bridge for Dominic Calvert-Lewin to stretch his time at Everton into a tenth year.

The opening games of the season have highlighted the best and the worst of Everton so far. Leeds showcased the impact a handful of injuries could have on the shape of the side, while Everton rode their luck in the win over Brighton and inflicted an anxious finish to the win at Wolves upon themselves through their mistakes.

But the attacking verve that has run through the latter two displays, the explosive start to the campaign by the forward players and the signings that have followed the trip to Elland Road have all offered a glimpse at what could be possible once the side has settled and Everton’s league-leading defence is fully fit.

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Combine those positives with the winning start to life at Hill Dickinson Stadium, a summer of commercial deals including with major brands like Pepsi and Budweiser and the fact the leadership team tasked with building the club’s future will soon be fully in place, and this has been a truly historic summer.

Throughout the window, which was difficult at times and which could never yield a solution to every single problem, chief executive Angus Kinnear insisted judgement should not come before September 2. While there will be challenges in the season ahead and this group of players may well infuriate at times, the potential for this campaign feels a world away from the despair Moyes inherited as another survival fight loomed in January.

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