Everton’s international break reaches another important point this evening, with Jordan Pickford returning to the England goal against Croatia in Rijeka.
Jarrad Branthwaite and James Garner are also with Thomas Tuchel’s squad for the 5pm Nations League kick-off, while back at Finch Farm David Moyes has been making the most of a depleted group. Transfer talk has returned too, with another striker set to be on Everton’s agenda in January.
Here’s our late-afternoon round-up of the main Everton stories from Saturday.
Pickford returns as Everton trio eye England action
Pickford is back in the England starting XI against Croatia after James Trafford was given the previous two matches against Spain and Czechia.
The timing comes after an excellent start to the season for Everton’s No.1. As we looked at earlier today, Pickford has kept three clean sheets in five Premier League appearances and saved 15 of the 18 shots on target he has faced.
He also insisted he is “only getting better” at the age of 32, with Everton publicly backing their goalkeeper ahead of his return.
Branthwaite and Garner will be in the squad too. Our Croatia v England guide has the details ahead of the 5pm kick-off, which is live on ITV1 and ITVX.
Everton will look for another striker in January
Everton’s failure to land Folarin Balogun on deadline day left Moyes with unfinished business, and January will bring another push for a centre-forward.
BBC Radio Merseyside reporter Giulia Bould believes another move for Balogun is “highly unlikely” and expects Everton to already be considering alternatives. That prompted us to look at five strikers Everton could target in January, including Younes Ebnoutalib, Conrad Harder, Troy Parrott, Joshua Zirkzee and Tammy Abraham.
Moyes currently has Thierno Barry as his only recognised senior centre-forward. Adding another option therefore looks likely to be high on the recruitment agenda when the window reopens.
Moyes gets closer look at Everton youngsters
The international absences have at least created opportunities at Finch Farm, where a sizeable group of academy players have been training alongside the senior players who remained on Merseyside.
Among those involved were 15-year-old Francis Boggan and 16-year-old Jonathan Nsangou, with Moyes getting a rare opportunity to assess Everton’s younger players in a first-team environment.
Nsangou has already made his mark. Jack Grealish supplied the pass for the teenager to score the late equaliser in Friday’s reported 3-3 behind-closed-doors draw with Blackburn Rovers at Hill Dickinson Stadium, giving him a goal on his first senior appearance.
Man City verdict reopens old PSR wounds
Manchester City’s financial verdict has inevitably prompted Evertonians to revisit their own experiences with Premier League financial rules.
One comparison circulating today focused on the very different stadium arrangements at the two clubs. Everton’s latest accounts put total spending on the Hill Dickinson Stadium project at £813m, while City play at the council-owned Etihad Stadium under a long-term lease.
As our look at the stadium comparison explains, the situations aren’t directly comparable and Everton weren’t punished for building their new stadium. Stadium financing did, however, become part of the wider dispute surrounding Everton’s second PSR case before the remaining complaint over interest costs was discontinued in January 2025.
For now, Evertonian attention turns to Rijeka, with Pickford back between the posts for England and Branthwaite and Garner hoping for an opportunity as the international break continues.
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