Richard Dunne makes David Moyes contract claim as Everton eye future
Richard Dunne believes David Moyes has earned a new deal at Everton, and the timing of that verdict matters. The Moyes Everton contract question has followed the club since The Friedkin Group took charge, and Dunne’s view carries weight given his own years at Goodison Park.
Moyes signed a two and a half year contract when he replaced Sean Dyche in January 2025. That agreement now runs into its second full season, and supporters want clarity on what comes next.
Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, Dunne did not hold back. “I don’t think anybody could do much better with the squad and the resources he’s got there,” he said. “There are some really good players in the squad, there’s just probably not enough of them.”
Dunne’s central point is stability. Everton have spent long stretches fighting relegation over the years. Under Moyes, that fear has mostly disappeared.
“If you look at Everton over a long period, they’ve been scrapping around the relegation zone and fighting those types of battles, whereas under David Moyes it never feels like they’re going to be in that territory.”
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Dunne’s praise comes with a warning attached. He argues Everton fall short of Europe not through poor management, but through thin numbers. “It looks like they’re always looking forward and always in with an opportunity to push on and get into those European positions, but they probably fall short because of the size of the squad,” he said.
The evidence backs him up. Everton closed the transfer window with just 18 senior outfield players. Thierno Barry stands alone as the club’s only recognised striker.
That situation grew worse on deadline day. Folarin Balogun walked out on a proposed move to Everton, leaving Moyes without the extra forward option he needed. It is one thing to manage a lean squad through injuries and suspensions. It is another to do it with barely enough bodies to fill a matchday squad.
For a fuller picture of where the squad stands after that window, our latest Everton news and talking points covers the wider fallout from deadline day. Every fixture congestion period, every injury to a key player, tests the depth Moyes has to work with.
Why Jack Grealish holds the key to elevating Everton’s goal threat
Against that backdrop, Jack Grealish’s return on loan from Manchester City looks like a rare piece of good fortune. Everton lost Iliman Ndiaye’s goal contributions this summer, and Dunne sees Grealish as the closest replacement they could have found.
“It’s very important that Everton got him,” Dunne said. “When you lose a player like (Iliman) Ndiaye, and you haven’t got a centre-forward who scores regularly, it’s important to have someone else who can chip in with goals, which Ndiaye was and hopefully Grealish will be.”
Fitness remains the obvious caveat. Grealish has not always played regular football in recent seasons, and Dunne is clear that patience will be needed. “Once he’s back fit and a hundred percent, the fans will see the best of Jack again,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. It’s just a matter of time, getting him back in the side, getting him playing regularly and getting him creating chances.”
Grealish has already had a taste of Everton football this season, including the line-ups where Grealish started. Dunne thinks defenders around the Premier League will need to adjust to him quickly.
“He will add something extra to Everton, because he’s a player the Premier League respects, I suppose, and defenders are wary of the situations he can cause when he has the ball.”
That reputation, Dunne argues, creates space for those around him even when Grealish himself is not at his sharpest. “Maybe they take a step backwards at times, and that gives a little bit of space to other players around the pitch,” he said. “He’s going to be a really popular signing with the fans, of course, but a real bonus to Everton throughout the season.”
Dunne’s final assessment is blunt about the difference a player like Grealish can make on his own. “He’s one of the players who can win points on his own,” he said. “Throughout the season he’ll be worth a lot to Everton.”
The Friedkin Group face pivotal decision over Moyes and transfer backing
All of this leaves The Friedkin Group with a decision to make. Dunne’s argument is not that Moyes should simply be handed a new contract and left to get on with it. It is that any new deal has to come with real assurances attached.
“He definitely deserves a new contract, but he’ll also want some reassurance that the owners are going to back him and give him funds in the transfer market to take them from mid-table up to a Europa League position they can challenge for,” Dunne said.
That is the crux of the Moyes Everton contract discussion right now. Stability under Moyes has been proven. What has not yet been proven is whether the ownership will match that stability with the squad depth needed to climb further.
Grealish’s arrival helps in the short term. Whether it is enough to close the gap Dunne describes, between competing for mid-table safety and pushing for continental football, will depend on what The Friedkin Group are prepared to invest once the next window opens.
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