David Moyes has given the clearest update yet on the Everton right-back search, confirming in his pre-Palace press conference that the club have identified targets but are being held back by budget.
On right backs…
“We’ve identified a few we like,” Moyes said, though he stopped short of naming most of them.
Merlin Rohl and Jimmy Garner were mentioned as options who could fill in there, and, interestingly, when pressed on Rohl’s outings there during pre-season, he cited other clubs who have turned midfield players into permanent right-backs.
A hint as to tomorrow’s starting right-back, perhaps?
Asked directly about the state of the market, Moyes didn’t dress it up. “A little down on numbers,” he said, before adding: “We’re limited on funds.”
On his transfer pot…
It was as blunt an admission as Everton fans will have heard from Moyes all summer, and it lines up with what chief executive Angus Kinnear said only a few days ago — that the club would rather wait for their “number one” target than settle for someone further down the list, even if that means starting the season without a specialist option.
That’s exactly the situation Moyes now finds himself in.
On injuries…
With Christian Nørgaard, James Garner and Tim Iroegbunam all out through injury, his options to solve the problem from within the current squad have narrowed further heading into Saturday.
On being better…
There was a bigger-picture message in there too. Moyes talked about the club’s ambitions to be competing for and winning trophies again, saying: “We want to get back to that… I know what it looks like.”
It was a pointed line from a manager who never got his hands on a trophy across 11 years in his first spell at Everton, but who does know what winning silverware looks like from his time at West Ham, where he ended their 43-year wait with the Europa Conference League in 2023.
On Tarky…
He also had a message for his new captain. “Tarky will have to play well — he has competition,” Moyes said, a reminder that James Tarkowski’s armband doesn’t come with a guaranteed starting spot regardless of form.
On Hayden Hackney…
He opted for a cautious tone and said he may have to bide his time before becoming a Premier League regular, citing Tim Cahill, Joleon Lescott and Phil Jagielka as players who have been brought in and who had to bide their time.
For the latest on the right-back search and other transfer news, follow our live transfer tracker.
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