A busy summer did not provide all the answers, but Everton have taken big strides forward.The dust has now settled on the 2025 summer transfer window and with the international break having drawn to a close, Everton can now reflect upon the outcome of their first transfer window under the leadership of CEO Angus Kinnear and his new recruitment team.Credit: Instagram - @evertonThis summer in the round was always going to be demanding for Everton; the Grand Old Lady of English football enjoyed a winning send-off and has subsequently been repurposed to become the home of Everton Women and the men’s team looked forward to the new stadium on the Banks of the Royal Blue Mersey under the direction of a new CEO in Kinnear and above all, the new owners, who had been in control since late December 2024.Business With Blain: Time FliesMore Than A Game·Jul 19Read full storyBack in August, Kinnear asked the fans to be patient and assess the success of the transfer window once it had closed. These were wise words, and set an appropriate expectation that the journey might not be smooth. Everton had a lot on their hands, with 12 players of the 2024-25 squad either out of contract or loanees returning to their parent club.“As a committee chaired by Kinnear, there will be natural tensions from the almost immediate needs of the manager to the medium and long-term needs of the club.”- Business With Blain: Undercooked (Aug 19, 2025)David Moyes set his stall out early that he needed ten players, and to their credit, Everton moved quickly in securing the services of some out-of-contract players, with club captain Seamus Coleman, Idrissa Gueye, and Michael Keane all signing for at least another year. A cut-price deal for Carlos Alcaraz was sealed before May was out.The other nine players formally left at the end of June, meaning the new transfer committee had to replace Asmir Begovic, Armando Broja, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Jack Harrison, Jesper Lindstrom, Orel Mangala, Joao Virginia and Ashley Young.Calvert-Lewin and Doucoure both rejected deals to stay at the club, but by throwing in their wages with the rest of the departees, Everton could have trimmed up to £30,000,000 from the annual payroll. However, it left them woefully short on numbers and, to some degree, Premier League experience.“[It is] critical then for Kinnear and the rest of his recruitment team is to trust in their process, trust in the decisions they have already made and trust in their team-mates to close the deals or retarget as appropriate.”- Business With Blain: Undercooked (Aug 19, 2025)Moyes expressed his frustration during the club’s pre-season tour to the United States, where they lost two and drew one of their games in the Premier League Summer Series. In the first two matches, Everton were clearly short of where they needed to be. Matters were not helped by key defender Jarrad Branthwaite suffering an injury that stopped him from travelling. Branthwaite returned for the final pre-season match, but then sustained a hamstring issue on the eve of the new campaign and has been out of action since then.During the US tour, Moyes said the club was “failing in some departments”, as they struggled to get deals over the line and in particular, the long-drawn-out acquisition of Tyler Dibling from Southampton.The pressure, then, was on, and with the clock running, Kinnear and his team appeared to be holding their nerve. They had some early wins, with striker Thierno Barry from Villarreal, goalkeeper Mark Travers from Bournemouth and full-back Adam Aznou from Bayern Munich all arriving in July, to add on top of the previous acquisition of Alcaraz.With the Dibling saga dragging on — Southampton were demanding £50m — and despite an encouraging performance against United in the last game of the Summer Series, Everton still looked short with hardly two weeks before the start of the season.Business With Blain: UndercookedMore Than A Game·Aug 19Read full storySpirits, though, were lifted significantly when in the space of a week the much-needed senior players, with the requisite Premier League experience, arrived in the form of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and loanee Jack Grealish from Manchester City. A few days later, third-choice goalkeeper Tom King signed from Wolves.A chastening defeat to Leeds United was a reminder of how much work there was still to do, but much-improved performances in the following games, combined with finally getting the Dibling deal done late in August, for a fee of £35m plus add-ons, provided a boost. Southampton also emphatically blinked first in those drawn-out negotiations.Everton’s victory over Brighton in their first game at the magnificent Hill Dickinson Stadium also brought them their first Premier League win in August since 2021; they followed that up with a home win in the EFL Cup, and then a terrific victory away at Wolves where Grealish dazzled again, and Everton looked offensively very strong, even if there were a couple of defensive lapses.evertonA post shared by @evertonWith 48 hours of the window left, buoyant Everton fans had high hopes; a defensive-minded midfield player was still needed, as was a right-sided forward and ideally a right full-back too. With eight players already added to the squad, there really was an expectation that a good transfer window could become a great one, but it was not to be.Everton did add central midfield player Merlin Rohl on loan, with an obligation to buy, from German Bundesliga club SC Freiburg, bringing Everton’s intake up to nine. With the comings and goings since the end of last season, they had been involved in 21 transactions (12 additions and nine departures), spent more than £100m in transfer fees with more committed, and increased their player amortisation by around £30m per annum.The window then, has been and gone, and Everton have enjoyed their best start to the season in many a long year. While it was not a great transfer window for Everton, it most certainly was a good one; even, perhaps, a very good one.evertonA post shared by @evertonThey have spent wisely, particularly when one considers the huge savings they have made from the wages of aging and departed players. They have shown a clear focus for youth, and players who will improve and increase in worth under the direction of Moyes.They are, then, in a good place.Everton fans are among the most knowledgeable in the Premier League and have been through torrid times in recent years — they deserve the good times they thought had long gone.The baton has now passed from Kinnear to Moyes, who must deliver the results that build on the current results-based optimism. Come January, he needs to be in a strong position to be vocal and demanding again in the transfer window, and encourage the leadership to invest the financial headroom they surely have in the budget, and give a push that may even deliver European competition for those worthy Everton fans in 2026-27.This article is free to read, but not all of MTAG’s content is. To support the publication and help us grow, please consider subscribing.