Everton showed interest in Barcelona defender Hector Fort in the final week of the transfer window, and they might regret not securing his signature this summer.
It was an exciting summer window for the Toffees, with Thierno Barry, Mark Travers, and Carlos Alcaraz arriving through the door early on. The Merseyside club later signed Adam Aznou, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Tyler Dibling, and then Jack Grealish on loan, before making a late deadline day move to sign Merlin Rohl on a temporary deal from Freiburg.
David Moyes' side strengthened in a host of different positions, but one area of the pitch they failed to reinforce was their right-back. The Toffees even brought in two backup goalkeepers in Tom King and Travers, while they are now heavily stacked in advanced areas thanks to the signings of Barry, Alcaraz, Dewsbury-Hall, Dibling, and Grealish.
Everton Showed Interest in Hector Fort
Hector Fort and Gavi
According to Spanish outlet SPORT, Everton were interested in signing Barcelona right-back Fort late in the summer transfer window. West Ham United also made an approach for the player, but neither Premier League side were able to get a deal over the line for the 19-year-old right-back.
GIVEMESPORT senior correspondent Fabrizio Romano confirmed during August that Fort had the opportunity to leave Barcelona, with the defender clearly not in Hansi Flick's plans. Fort then appeared to be heading to Mallorca, but in the final hours of the summer window, a move fell through.
This was the ideal chance for Everton to swoop in. They were yet to sign a right-back in the summer, and it's a position of need with Seamus Coleman struggling with staying fit, Nathan Patterson failing to live up to expectations, and Jake O'Brien naturally a centre-back despite being Everton's first choice right-back of late.
Barcelona were always likely to accept a loan so late in the window, and they did just that in the final hours. Fort eventually joined Elche on a temporary deal, but this could have been the perfect chance for the Toffees to secure a highly-rated right-back. Although it may have only been a loan, there's always a chance they could have turned that permanent in the future.
They might regret missing out on a right-back in the coming months. Coleman will need to stay fit, while it appeared that Patterson wanted a move in the summer. If O'Brien suffers an injury, it could be a sticky situation for Everton during the 2025/2026 season.
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