As the pace of activity quickens behind-the-scenes, a look at some of the key remaining jobs of the summer
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David Moyes looks on ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 group C match between Boca Juniors and Benfica at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images
David Moyes looks on ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 group C match between Boca Juniors and Benfica at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images
Recent weeks may have been quiet but the summer, so far, has been bookended by significant moves from Everton.
The club began the close season in the best way possible, continuing the momentum of winning the final three games by securing the future of the architect of those results - Carlos Alcaraz.
In recent days the calm that ensued was disrupted by the opening of talks with Jarrad Branthwaite over a new deal - a necessity given his status within David Moyes’ plans and a litmus test for the vision the club is setting out to some of its most ambitious players. Confirmation of the new leadership appointments tasked with driving Everton forward only added to the sense the pace of activity this summer is now quickening. As the work behind-the-scenes begins to step up, here are some of the remaining jobs that are high on the club’s agenda.
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The outstanding contracts
First up is resolving the positions of Seamus Coleman, Idrissa Gueye, Michael Keane and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, all of whom are out of contract in just over a week. Coleman and Gueye have been offered new deals, with Moyes keen to retain Coleman’s influence in the dressing room while Gueye impressed to the point that he earned the player of the season accolade from both the supporters and his teammates.
With Gueye, the sticking point is understood to revolve around the length of the contract - though his return three summers ago also dragged on for some time before being successfully completed.
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The club has stayed in contact with Calvert-Lewin and Keane, though the latter is understood to be the subject of significant interest from elsewhere in the Premier League and abroad. Discussions are not holding back business but the clarity that will come over the next week will be useful.
The squad regeneration that presents opportunity and risk
Moyes and the team being built around him already have a good idea of what is required this summer. But the scale of the project is vast and, with so much to do, the transfer window could head down any number of pathways depending on who becomes available and when.
Should Coleman and Gueye, the two most likely to remain of the four previously mentioned, indeed stay on then the outlook would not reduce the size of the task that much - Moyes is not anticipating Coleman being available all season and he hopes to build a midfield that is less reliant on Gueye.
But the presence of both will help heading into July, the point at which Everton should enter a new era from a financial and regulatory perspective - one they hope to use to design a team for progress. Work will have to begin quickly with so many players required so expect business to intensify soon.
Wider squad calls - including loan deals
It is not just bringing players in that will be on the agenda this summer, with the club set to make calls on several who may benefit from moves elsewhere. Youssef Chermiti has struggled for first team minutes in his first two seasons at Everton, partly through injury. Moyes will need to make a call on whether he is likely to be in his first team plans and, if not, whether club and player are better served by a loan move.
The same may be true for starlet midfielder Harrison Armstrong. The teenager excelled on loan with Derby County in the Championship and will start the summer at Finch Farm with a manager likely to both need him and want to give him a chance. As the summer develops, there will have to be careful consideration for how to support the 18-year-old’s blossoming career. What happens will be heavily influenced by what the club can do in the transfer market. Tim Iroegbunam and Nathan Patterson could attract attention.
And the other contracts that require thought
So much attention is focused on those whose deals are expiring at the end of the month - and on the newly-opened talks with Jarrad Branthwaite - it is easy to forget Everton have other agreements to consider.
Vitalii Mykolenko, James Garner and James Tarkowski all finished last season in Moyes’ favoured XI and all three will be part of his plans when pre-season begins. They each enter the final year of their deals in July, however, so amongst all the other jobs Everton need to do, deciding whether to open talks - or risk losing key players on a free - is another.
Managing the transitions
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Moyes and his coaching team will have a lot to do to get Everton prepared for the new season. The playing squad will be added to continuously as the campaign approaches and moulding the new-look dressing room will not be easy - hence the desire to keep Coleman in there.
There is also the requirement to get those who remain to grips with the move from Goodison to the Hill Dickinson Stadium, and for everyone to come to terms with the history they will be making in August.
Moyes knows the importance of a fast start and would have liked to play more games at the new ground so his players could acclimatise to the surroundings. Only Roma await before Brighton and Hove Albion become the first competitive opponents there, however. Everton have started poorly across the past two seasons and have lost their first home game in each of the past three seasons. A good start will be high on the agenda.