Our Everton jury have returned to have their say on the club's shambolic end to the summer transfer window that saw a deal for Folarin Balogun collapse
David Moyes and Iliman Ndiaye of Everton
David Moyes and Iliman Ndiaye of Everton(Image: Tony McArdle/Everton FC/SmartFrame)
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Everton endured a chaotic and shambolic end to the transfer window, leaving David Moyes with just one centre-forward. The Blues saw a deal for Monaco striker Folarin Balogun collapse after the United States international walked away despite a contract having been signed between the two clubs.
Beto's departure to Fiorentina earlier in the day means manager Moyes now has just one recognised striker, Thierno Barry at the club. As well as Beto, Iliman Ndiaye, Nathan Patterson and Tim Iroegbunam also departed.
Blues supporters are furious with how things played out, and our Everton jury has returned to have their say.
Paul
You can always rely on Everton to puncture a balloon of optimism as soon as it begins to take flight.
Last Wednesday over 5,000 travelling Blues roared the team on to a League Cup win at Preston, building on an impressive 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace in the League.
A favourable home draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers raised hopes of an extended cup run and the word from the board was to expect some new arrivals in key positions before the transfer window ended.
And then last Saturday morning, the news broke that Everton had agreed to sell Harrison Armstrong to Nottingham Forest.
It was the moment The Friedkin Group revealed its true colours. All that mattered was the balance sheet, they were quite happy to sell off our most promising prospect in years to a mid-ranking Premier League outfit, just to make a fast buck.
The fury of the fan reaction sent a clear message: sell him and there’s going to be a riot. The owners backed down, Armstrong stayed but any trust we had in our board was gone.
David Moyes’ statement after the game showed that he shared the supporters’ frustration. Still, The Friedkin Group had a chance to redeem themselves in the transfer window.
Everton's Scottish manager David Moyes reacts on the touchline during the English Premier League football match between Bournemouth and Everton at the Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth, southern England on August 29, 2026. (Photo by Adrian Dennis / AFP via Getty Images) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. /
Everton boss David Moyes has been left with a desperately small squad(Image: Adrian Dennis / AFP via Getty Images)
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Experience tells you that competent clubs don’t do the bulk of their deals on deadline day and certainly never sell before having the replacement secured.
But Everton are different. We sell our best player, Iliman Ndiaye to Manchester City for a ridiculously low fee of £65 million and bring in Jack Grealish on loan. I love Jack but I would have preferred to have kept Ndiaye
Beto goes to Fiorentina, but we have Folarin Balogun lined up - except we haven’t! There are concerns after his medical, we try to negotiate a lower fee and then he walks! This is after failing to land Richarlison who was begging to come here.
In desperation we tried to sign Joshua Zirkzee but Manchester United rejected the approach. It was an absolute shambles unfolding under the full glare of Sky TV.
So, with the departure of two midfielders, two full backs and a striker, we are weaker than before.
After this fiasco, the fans don’t trust the owners, the manager has not been backed and the owners have shown they just don’t understand Everton or what the fans want!
But despite this, we’re Blues, we support the team. We’ll be back at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Sunday giving the team our full support.
However, the honeymoon period with The Friedkin Group is over. Nil Satis Nisi Optimum is our motto. It is the standard which is in the DNA of every Evertonian.
What has happened here these past few days is totally unacceptable. Everton fans deserve better.
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - JULY 1: Folarin Balogun #20 of the United States celebrates after scoring a goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round Of 32 match between USA and Bosnia and Herzegovina at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium on July 1, 2026 in Santa Clara, United States. (Photo by Elysia Su/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)
A move for Folarin Balogun fell through at the last minute for Everton(Elysia Su/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)
James Kellett
The 2026 summer transfer window showcased the true mess that Everton Football Club is.
Recent seasons have been characterised by the club treading water in the Premier League, in the hope of preserving their elite status at the top of English football.
The first season at Hill Dickinson Stadium was one of progress, and although it ended in bitter disappointment with failure to secure European football, there was a foundation to build on.
To their credit, important players to David Moyes’ project have been secured, with the likes of Jack Grealish, Tyrique George and Merlin Rohl rejoining permanently, and exciting talent such as Hayden Hackney bringing promise to Merseyside.
But the exits of Iliman Ndiaye, Beto and Tim Iroegbunam, to name a few, have left the Blues shortchanged and in a weaker position compared to the start of the summer.
This, on paper, represents a huge failure on the part of Everton’s board and recruiting staff. The supporters' reaction has communicated this, diminishing any chance to build on positivity within the fanbase.
Folarin Balogun’s collapsed deal appears to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. Regardless of who was recruited and sold, the last-minute actions on September 1 highlighted disorganisation that has painted Everton as a laughingstock.
Folarin Balogun walked out on a move to Everton on deadline day
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Summer 2026 was one that the Blues would use to create a squad that could compete for trophies and push for Europe, yet as of today they have one senior striker and one senior left back, among several issues.
Angus Kinnear said this was a “two-window project” at Hill Dickinson Stadium. Two windows have passed, and the club’s hierarchy has failed to deliver a squad that is ready to give supporters the competitive team they deserve.
Some Evertonians are feeling alienated from their beloved club, and it is clear to see why. Mismanagement at the top continues, the cost of watching their team continues to rise, and hope to see some progress is dwindling.
The onus is now on The Friedkin Group to make the necessary changes to ensure this chaos does not ensue again.
Supporters, players and the manager have been left behind by their board, and if the club are to progress, an overhaul is needed at the top.
Accountability is one thing that must be shown in the immediate aftermath of the Blues’ transfer failures, but with the damage already done, it is too little too late to simply apologise for an appalling end to the summer window.
Everton’s recent antics depict them as a football club dressed as a circus. The Blues boast a shiny new stadium, akin to an eye-catching tent, but once inside, it’s an incoherent mess with no sense of direction, to the amusement of the masses who are simply laughing at them.
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Mark McParlan
I am stunned, disbelieving, and outraged at the manner in which the hierarchy at Everton Football Club have handled the close of this summer transfer window.
Immediately prior to our first Premier League away trip of the season, the club agreed to sell our star, prized local academy prodigy to Nottingham Forest before having to be forced to U-turn by vociferous fan anger.
Next, we almost got scammed by Tottenham into exchanging £25million plus an ageing, injury-prone Richarlison for Iliman Ndiaye. We were only saved by issues on Richarlison’s end.
In any case, we’ve still sold Ndiaye for well under market value given his contract still had three years to run and the prices other clubs have charged.
Then the Balogun saga was beyond words. Problems have emerged from his medical, we’ve panicked, tried to get Zirkzee on loan for £10m, decided to buy Balogun anyway despite medical concerns, had to put a deal sheet in and renegotiate turns, by which point the Monaco striker had (understandably) seen enough and walked out.
Joshua Zirkzee of Manchester United celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the Premier League match between Manchester United FC and Everton FC at Old Trafford on December 01, 2024 in Manchester, England.
Everton failed in a bid to land Joshua Zirkzee on deadline day(Image: Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
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We have one striker in Thierno Barry. God help us. We have one left-back in Vitalii Mykolenko, basically our worst starting player anyway. We should have signed a new player to upgrade the position and make Mykolenko second choice – instead we have loaned out Adam Aznou and proceeded to do nothing. It is unacceptable.
We don’t have a natural right-back following Nathan Patterson’s departure, only Maitland-Niles, another convert from midfield about whom nobody feels inspired. It is utterly inconceivable that we entered the window with three natural full-backs and have exited with, being generous, one and a half.
Our squad list beggars belief. There are only 18 outfield players in the senior Everton squad. We have completely failed the close of this window, and now questions must turn to our absentee corporate American owners, the CEO, and the supposed transfer ‘committee’.
I’m gutted at how this has gone, our failure to address obvious problems, or making others even worse. But it isn’t the fault of the players we have - as fans we’ve simply got to support them all throughout these matches.
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