Everton let a host of players go this summer, and it looks like one who stayed came very close to leaving the club.
Everton’s squad will be looking quite different in 2025/26, with a high number of players being turned over.
So far we have seen Ashley Young, Joao Virginia, Asmir Begovic, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Dominic Calvert-Lewin all leave at the end of their contracts.
And loan players Jesper Lindstrom, Jack Harrison, Armando Broja and Orel Mangala have all gone back to their parent clubs.
But a number of players have penned new deals – one of those being Michael Keane.
For a while, it had looked like Keane would leave the club, having not played much in 2024/25. It was claimed in March that Keane had interest in him from clubs ‘worldwide’.
But he signed an extension, along with Idrissa Gana Gueye and Seamus Coleman, and will now be sticking around – but he did come close to leaving.
Michael Keane was set to be replaced before David Moyes intervention
Everton defender Michael Keane ahead of playing Crystal Palace.
Photo by Andrew Kearns – CameraSport via Getty Images
£30 million signing Keane (BBC Sport) started last season in Everton’s team, but lost his place once Jarrad Branthwaite returned from injury.
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He then finished the season in the starting XI when James Tarkowski and Branthwaite were both injured.
Realistically, his role now is to provide cover, but David Moyes clearly felt he was worth keeping around.
The Liverpool Echo has provided some interesting information regarding how the Keane extension finally came about.
The publication claims that initially, Keane was due to be let go by Everton.
It’s even suggested that the Toffees reached an agreement to sign another club’s centre-back. The identity of that player is not disclosed though.
But in the end, Moyes intervened and pushed for fresh talks with Keane, who signed a one-year extension.
Why Moyes wanted to keep Keane at Everton
It is stated that Moyes ultimately felt that it just made sense to keep Keane rather than gamble on signing a new player.
The Scot is said to have been ‘impressed with Keane’s work on the pitch and attitude off it’, and that the decision to keep hold of him was ‘straightforward’ in the end.
Everton manager David Moyes wearing a scarf.
Photo by Alex Livesey – Danehouse/Getty Images
Keane has been happy with his role at Everton, and it may have been a risk for Moyes to bring in a new face.
Ultimately, while Keane is no longer in his prime, he can still come in and do a job.
Everton fans were content to see Keane stay, and hopefully he can prove in 2025/26 that that decision was the correct one.