David Moyes, Manager of Everton, applauds the fans following the Premier League match between Everton FC and Manchester United FC at Goodison Park on February 22, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images)placeholder image
David Moyes, Manager of Everton, applauds the fans following the Premier League match between Everton FC and Manchester United FC at Goodison Park on February 22, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images) | Getty Images
David Moyes is no stranger to working miracles in the transfer market for Everton with one former Premier League star revealing he nearly moved to Goodison.
Technical directors, heads of recruitment and managers will always look to sign players who they can trust and David Moyes nearly pulled off a coup during his first tenure as Everton manager.
The Toffees boss built a workmanlike and resilient squad who brought Champions League football to Goodison Park and who regularly competed up at the sharp end of the table. A return to those days is the plan with European football at the Hill Dickinson Stadium destined to be a biblical happening.
The manager will be wanting to add more depth over the coming transfer windows but the early signs are encouraging.
When David Moyes tried to pull off Everton transfer coup
Between 2002 and 2013, Moyes rebuilt Everton and made them a serious force once again and turned to an old friend to pull off what could have been a game-changing signing. The veteran Scot would eventually replace Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United but before he did, he picked up the phone to ask if there was any chance of an 11-time Premier League winner swapping the red of United for the blue of Everton.
Speaking on The Good, The Bad & The Football YouTube channel, former United midfielder Paul Scholes explained just how close he came to signing for Everton under Moyes.
“Yeah, I actually spoke to Phil Neville about playing for Everton, the chance of playing for Everton if the manager (Alex Ferguson) didn’t want me,” Scholes admitted. “They were the only two people I mentioned to were Gary (Neville) and Phil and they thought it was the right thing.
“Who was the manager at Everton at the time? Was it Moyes?” Scholes was asked. “Yeah. Yeah, Phil was there with David Moyes. So, I went to see the manager (Sir Alex Ferguson) early morning said, ‘yeah, brilliant’, you know, he rang David Gill within 2 minutes and said, ‘let’s do it.'”
Obviously the deal never happened, but it is certainly a sliding doors moment and an example of the type of deals that the media doesn’t catch wind of.
Who would Scholes have played with and put out of Everton team
Scholes doesn’t say exactly when Everton were a possibility, however, with Neville as captain, it must have been some time around 2010 with the former England international hanging up his boots in 2012 before returning after a break in 2013.
One thing that Moyes always did was build a strong midfield and during this period, this is exactly what he had at his disposal.
Leon Osman and Neville would be more defensive options with Tim Cahill a more box-to-box or attack-minded player joined by the versatile Marouane Fellaini, the only player Moyes would sign when he took over from Ferguson.
All of these players were hard working and honest, what they didn’t have though was the sort of passing range that Scholes had or the ability to dictate the tempo of a game. If Osman and Neville were ball winners, Cahill and Fellaini were the sort who were capable of getting on the end of chances. Having Scholes knit them all together could have been a game changer and taken Everton to the next level.
Continue Reading