Everton endured a shambolic end to the summer transfer window after seeing a £40m move for US international Folarin Balogun collapse on deadline day
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - MARCH 31: David Moyes head coach of Everton during an international friendly match between Scotland and Ivory Coast at Hill Dickinson Stadium on March 31, 2026 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
David Moyes (bottom, centre) and Angus Kinnear (middle, centre) watch the international match between Scotland and Ivory Coast at Hill Dickinson Stadium on March 31, 2026(Image: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
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The Everton Fans’ Forum have issued a statement expressing their anger at how the club ended the transfer window and warned that 'patience should not be accepted for acceptance'. The Blues endured a chaotic and embarrassing end to the window that saw their £40m move for Folarin Balogun collapse late on deadline day, leaving manager David Moyes with only one striker for the first half of the season.
A medical earlier in the day revealed a problem which left Everton scrambling to renegotiate the terms of a £40m agreement with the Ligue 1 club. And although the structure of the deal was renegotiated late on, Balogun is believed to have changed his mind over the move and walked away at the final moment.
The collapse of the deal leaves Thierno Barry as Everton’s one recognised striker, while Nathan Patterson, Beto, Iliman Ndiaye and Tim Iroegbunam all departed the club within the space of a couple of hours of each other on the final day of the window.
Jack Grealish and Ainsley Maitland-Niles did arrive before the deadline, but the way things played out have left supporters raging and the Fan’ Forum believes major questions must now be answered by the club’s hierarchy.
In an open letter they said: “The conclusion of this summer’s transfer window leaves Everton supporters with serious questions about the club’s planning, recruitment and decision-making.
“We were told there was a clear strategy. We were told the recruitment structure had changed. We were told lessons had been learned from the mistakes of previous years.
“Yet, once again, Everton have found themselves scrambling in the final days and hours of a transfer window to address positions that supporters and the football department have known required strengthening for months.
“This is not about demanding that Everton recklessly. Supporters understand the financial restrictions the club operates under. We are not demanding marquee signings simply for the sake of it.
“We are demanding competence, preparation and accountability.
“The decision to allow key players without having suitable replacements secured has left the squad looking dangerously short in key areas.
“The collapse of yet another transfer at the 11th hour only adds to that frustration. These are not minor administrative issues. They are failures that directly affect the strength and competitiveness of the first-team squad and the options available to the manager.
“Everton cannot continue operating this way.
“For years, supporters have been told that chaos of the previous regime would not be repeated. We were promised a more professional, structured and sustainable approach to recruitment.
“So we have to ask: Where is the planning? Where is the preparation? Where is the accountability when the plan fails?
“Evertonians have shown extraordinary patience and loyalty throughout some of the darkest periods in the club’s history. They have backed the team, filled the stadium and continued to believe in the direction being presented to them.
“That patience should not be mistaken for acceptance.
“The Fans Forum believes supporters deserve a clear explanation of what went wrong during this transfer window, why key targets were not secured and what measures will be put in place to ensure these failures are not repeated.
“This football club has spent too long reacting to problems rather than anticipating them. That has to change.
“Everton Football Club should be setting the standard, not scrambling around to meet it. Our motto is Nil Satis Nisi Optimum - nothing but the best is good enough.
“Those words should apply not only to the player representing Everton on the pitch, but to every level of the football club.
“Evertonians deserve better. And after everything they have endured, they are entitled to demand better.”