ByProgression1878
The hardest part of Everton’s rebuild is not escaping survival scraps. The hardest part is what comes next. They want to be a club constantly making progress, and not fall into the trap of standing still.
Everton don’t want to be a club just ‘breaking’ into Europe, they want to be a club where that is considered the minimum expectation. This should be the aim, consistently being in those spots.
But, how do they get there?
This isn’t a full rebuild job for Everton. It isn’t a squad overhaul.
Everton’s current squad has a good core group. It’s about refining the squad and making those much-needed adjustments
A danger for Everton is thinking progress of ‘competing’ for Europe last season means they are close to achieving it.
Finishing close to Europe does not mean you have a European-level squad. Everton rode their luck at times last season, it was also a very unique table. There is no guarantee the league is at that level again. So, Everton need to be front-footed and purposeful in how they build their squad to try to compete.
Credit: Instagram - @everton
Jordan Pickford remains one of the league’s outstanding goalkeepers. Jarrad Branthwaite, if he can stay fit, is one of the league’s better defenders on current ability, let alone potential-wise. James Garner, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye have all shown they can consistently perform at a level expected of a club targeting Europe. These are Everton’s ‘known quantities’
Around them sits the relative unknown, the players not necessarily starting right now, but with, in theory, bright futures.
Tyler Dibling, Tyrique George, Hayden Hackney, Merlin Röhl, Harrison Armstrong, Thierno Barry and even Jake O’Brien. Every one of them possesses genuine good Premier League potential, but potential is exactly that; no certainty.
The challenge for Everton isn’t solely about finding high-ceiling players anymore. It’s creating the environment for players to hit those ceilings.
A big misunderstanding that I see online between fans is that because players have potential, a certain sector just want those players starting every week.
Dibling has huge potential? Play him all the time!
George is the future? Start him every week!
Armstrong is highly rated? Throw him straight into midfield!
Football doesn’t work like that, David Moyes isn’t managing an academy side. He’s managing a club that finished 13th, ended the season in a dismal manner and he has either been tasked with getting Everton back into Europe, or he has set that aim himself. Managers at the end of the day are the ones with their jobs on the line and are ultimately the face of results… unsurprisingly, results matter.
Young players develop best when they’re introduced into stable sides, not when they’re expected to rescue struggling ones or simply just thrown in the deep end whilst Everton lack so much.
That’s why Everton don’t need every prospect to become an automatic starter overnight. They do, however, need those players contributing meaningful minutes, contributing to the levels when possible, alongside pushing the more favourable ‘starters’.
RECRUITMENT — QUALITY AND FIT OVER EVERYTHING
Everton have some squad ‘problems’ that need fixing. In fixing these issues, it can’t just be buying by position and that alone, it must be buying a profile of player to solve said problems.
Everton could sign a right-back tomorrow that could start, but they want to fix this problem, not kick the can down the road. A right-back who brings pace, athleticism, defensive stability and attacking quality to a position that currently lacks all three (well, a position that is lacking full-stop) is needed.
A genuine defensive midfielder capable of protecting the defence, providing some ‘steel’ and being adept at receiving the ball under pressure. Everton are well stocked with number eights, but they lack a true holding midfielder capable of anchoring.
Competition for Mykolenko at left-back, with Adam Aznou allowed to continue his development through regular football elsewhere. Given Moyes’ reluctance to trust him, a loan feels the best outcome for all.
And finally, an attacking difference-maker, not just another winger.
A player capable of changing matches through pace, power or individual quality.
Everton have lacked that profile for years — a genuine attacking threat.
THE DOMINO EFFECT
The obvious name is Jack Grealish. While maybe not the ‘goal getter’, he is an X-factor type.
Another loan would almost certainly improve Everton in the short term, but recruitment departments have to separate short term relief for long term gain.
Spending another £12million or so on a soon-to-be 31-year-old winger, who isn’t a long-term answer, especially on the back of a lengthy injury and also for a side with limited financial power who are trying to build longer term, just doesn’t feel clever business to me. Especially when you throw in that, if Grealish did cost another £12m, then it would be around £24m total for two seasons, one of which he missed a big chunk with due to injury.
Consequences also include how it impacts your current squad. This goes for any potential signing, not just Grealish.
If Everton recruit a new right winger, where do Dibling’s minutes come from?
Credit: Instagram - @everton
If Ndiaye continues playing virtually every minute, how does George get the meaningful Premier League minutes he needs, and that Everton need to see to get a return on their investment?
Moyes has never been a manager renowned for heavy rotation or significant tactical changes during matches. Once he trusts a team, he normally sticks with that group.
That consistency has always been there with Moyes’ teams, it can also create problems for young players trying to establish themselves.
Ultimately, as touched on above, his job is to win now and it’s the recruitment team’s to build for the future as well as the present.
Recruitment isn’t simply about just getting the exciting players in, that’s the easy part. It’s creating the foundation to see these players fulfil it. Without that, they maybe regress and you end up losing on your investment.
Moyes enters the final year of his contract with one clear objective (seemingly given to himself!) — get Everton back in European competition. A common fear is “we shouldn’t be recruiting solely for a manager who is leaving next year!”
Which is right, it shouldn’t be the case anyway, but he is here, so signing players ‘for the next manager’ is a waste; Moyes must want to use any additions. Moyes himself may want more finished products in their late 20’s/early 30’s. The recruitment department, however, has to think much further ahead.
Recruitment cannot reset every time the manager changes.
Whether Moyes remains beyond this season or not, Everton should continue recruiting players that suit the modern demands of the Premier League: Athletic, good technically, and able to cope with the demands.
If that identity remains consistent, the eventual transition to a younger, more progressive head coach becomes evolution rather than another rebuild, with any luck.
Unless you’re one of English football’s financial heavyweights, eventually somebody comes for your best players.
The question isn’t if, it’s when.
Aston Villa have shown that selling key players doesn’t necessarily mean taking a step backwards. Whilst not ideal, their recruitment has allowed them to refresh the squad while remaining competitive; they will look to be doing that again this summer after the Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers sales.
Brighton, meanwhile, have often accepted a sort of one step forward/one step back outcome because replacements were signed as developmental investments, rather than immediate Premier League-ready footballers.
Everton should aspire to something closer to Villa’s approach, but perhaps a bit more blended with the Brighton model; a fine balance of maybe signing more ready-made 24- 27-year-olds instead of swinging either side of the bracket.
Keeping Villa’s competitive hunger, but merging that with Brighton’s future planning.
If Manchester United came calling for Ndiaye tomorrow, Everton shouldn’t begin searching for a replacement after the bid arrives, that succession plan should already exist. The best recruitment departments don’t react to departures; they anticipate/prepare for them. Clubs shouldn’t be afraid or avoid selling. They just need to control the situation and become comfortable in doing so.
The key is for Everton to trust themselves in doing this, this will play a key part in their long-term strategy of being a constant in the upper regions of the Premier League table.
Everton have already invested heavily in Hackney, Röhl and George this summer.
There isn’t an endless pit of finances (unfortunately), so the next step should be adding key parts to the first XI, whilst also shipping out in a ruthless fashion players they don’t need.
This is where Everton’s recruitment has to become disciplined. Supporters often build transfer windows around replacing every player who isn’t viewed as “good enough.”
That’s rarely how clubs operate; the reality is Everton don’t need eleven European-level footballers overnight. We might all want it, but it’s not realistic! Every deal must count.
Successful clubs gradually improve around a stable core while accepting that one or two positions can be carried during this period.
Some players, you also must simply stick with. There has been a clamour for a new striker, but Thierno Barry deserves a genuine opportunity to sink or swim. Eight league goals in his first Premier League season is enough encouragement to justify backing him as Everton’s starting number nine for another year. Everton signed him to be the long-term option; they must keep faith in this, even after struggles.
Iroegbunam, Carlos Alcaraz, Dwight McNeil, Mark Travers and Nathan Patterson are all names linked to exits, and it makes financial sense to cash in if possible. Everton as a club can’t continue to stockpile players due to being scared of what they may lose. They need to be decisive in their decision-making.
The key for Everton in their new era?
Safety to stability. It’s now about sustaining progress, not falling into stagnation.