Everton have been linked with a headline-grabbing transfer that could have a serious impact on their season
Early in the summer, the noises being made at Everton suggested that the club planned to be more ambitious in the transfer market than they had been for years. In the end, however, the club’s owners held the purse strings tight and allowed the deadline to pass without adding players in positions of clear need. That ambition never materialised.
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That was partly accidental (nobody at the club foresaw the sudden collapse of Folarin Balogun’s move from Monaco) but regardless of the processes that took place, the result has been the same – Everton remain a rugged but goal-shy side who now face the prospect of going through the first few months of the season with just one recognised striker in their squad.
It’s unsurprising, therefore, that the Toffees are being linked with Mauro Icardi. The 33-year-old is most likely the best forward available as a free agent right now, and signing him could substantially improve their firepower and, at the very least, their depth. Despite that, several stories have emerged which suggest that David Moyes is unwilling to sign the Argentine – so what’s really happening, and should Everton be in the bidding?
Will Everton sign Mauro Icardi?
Mauro Icardi has lived a tempestuous life off the field - but has never stopped scoring goalsplaceholder image
Mauro Icardi has lived a tempestuous life off the field - but has never stopped scoring goals | Getty Images
The stories suggesting that Everton are keen to sign Icardi are logical on paper and have appeared in numerous corners of the internet – but the most reliable source to have commented on the rumours so far suggests that the Toffees aren’t likely to sign the former Inter, PSG and Galatasaray star.
The Athletic have suggested that Everton were “not expected” to enter the free agent market, and the admittedly less reliable Football Insider have since opined that Moyes himself is wary of signing Icardi, who is without a club following the end of his contract with Galatasaray.
Solid reporting is thin on the ground, but the link between Everton and Icardi currently appears to be strictly speculative, a case of media sources looking for ways that the club might fix their problems up front rather than reporting on a story which is backed up by tangible sources. If Everton are making moves to sign Icardi, they are doing so much more quietly than might be appreciated given how many reports are doing the rounds.
Icardi, meanwhile, seems more likely to move back to Italy. Sky Sport Italia report that Lazio are involved in talks with the former Argentina international, while Napoli and Parma have also been suggested as potential destinations by the Italian media. No deal appears to have been agreed and Everton have time to make a move if they so wish, but they don’t appear to be at the head of the queue.
There are several perfectly good reasons why they might not be keen on Icardi, specifically. A controversial figure whose private life is anything but, the striker is a magnet for controversy – recent incidents which have played out in the press include a property dispute involving his landlord in Istanbul, who claimed that Icardi had damaged his villa and refused to pay rent, and the release of a video which appeared to show Icardi headbutting a fan.
In short, Icardi is a figure who tends to draw tabloid attention and whose predilection for nightlife may exceed his sense of professional discipline. He’s also getting up there in years and missed the majority of the 2024/25 season after rupturing his ACL. Although he played 31 league games last season, he started just 12. There are highly valid concerns over his fitness. In spite of all of that, however, ignoring him entirely might be a mistake.
Why Everton should be in the market for Icardi
David Moyes has made Everton tough to beat - but scoring remains an ongoing problemplaceholder image
David Moyes has made Everton tough to beat - but scoring remains an ongoing problem | AFP via Getty Images
Icardi may be nobody’s idea of a long-term solution to Everton’s search for a striker and there is certainly a chance that a deal might backfire – but when he is even close to match fitness, he remains a superb goal-scorer.
Icardi scored 14 Super Lig goals last season at an average of one every 96 minutes, and from a total of just 10.53xG. Prior to his ACL injury in 2024, he scored 50 goals over his first two seasons in the Turkish capital, and for all the controversies he leaves Galatasaray as something close to a club legend.
It is, granted, the Turkish league, but the quality at the top of their domestic game has improved markedly in recent years thanks to an influx of cash and favourable tax laws which allow the biggest clubs to offer huge salaries. And Icardi scored freely for years in Italy and France beforehand. Were he to move to Everton, he would stand among the most naturally gifted goal-scorers ever to play for the club.
And this is a team which sorely needs some help up front. Barry is likely to be asked to plough a lone furrow for week after week at the spearhead of Moyes’ attack, backed up by a relatively uncreative squad which no longer contains Iliman Ndiaye. They have scored just five goals in their first four Premier League matches, and only five teams have produced a lower xG total to date.
Could signing Icardi blow up in their face? Certainly. But is there a single better option available to them? Maybe if you believe that they can sign a 38-year-old Karim Benzema. But most likely not. Everton need to do something to kick-start a flaccid attack. Icardi is probably the only signing they could make this side of January which would make a single jot of a difference.