Everton are expected to have a busy January transfer window after falling short with their summer business
It’s fair to say that Everton didn’t have the best of summer transfer windows. While there were positives in the signing of Tyrique George on a permanent transfer, along with the likes of rising star Hayden Hackney and an intriguing swap deal that saw Brennan Johnson arrive in the place of Dwight McNeil, the Toffees ultimately came up short.
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On a summer Deadline Day from hell, the club failed to sign over half a dozen last-gasp targets. This left them with just one recognised senior striker in Thierno Barry, and in the same position when it comes to a left full-back, with Vitalii Mykolenko the only recognised natural in that area of the field.
While Everton’s owners have, in effect, revealed that the club is now up for sale just two years into their stay on Merseyside, the club are still expected to be busy in January, with manager David Moyes in dire need of some reinforcements to bolster his threadbare squad. We’ve examined every player the Toffees have been significantly linked with since the summer window shut, and weighed up whether they might sign them in January.
Every player linked with Everton since the summer
Everton are said to be long-term admirers of Juventus midfielder Teun Koopmeinersplaceholder image
Everton are said to be long-term admirers of Juventus midfielder Teun Koopmeiners | AFP via Getty Images
Juventus midfielder Teun Koopmeiners is a long-term target of Everton - so long-term they were apparently even after him back when he played for his previous club Atalanta. He was once an fearsome attacking midfielder, but has since suffered due to his versatility, being played far back in midfield and even at full-back for the Netherlands national team.
The Toffees are thought to be weighing up a potential winter move for the 28-year-old gem, who made the Europa League Team of the Season, the Serie A Team of the Season and also scored the division’s best goal that year in a glorious 2023/24 campaign with Atalanta. While Everton clearly need to sign a striker, Koopmeiners’ rumoured £26m asking price could prove tempting.
The Toffees also continue to be linked with a move for free agent striker Mauro Icardi, who is without a club after leaving Galatasaray following the expiry of his contract back in the summer. Everton and Spurs were both believed to have made enquiries about the Argentine ace, but neither club progressed to making a formal offer.
Were it two or three years ago, signing him would be a no-brainer. But bringing in a striker who will be miles off match fitness and will turn 34 in February just doesn’t seem like a wise idea - not that Everton’s recruitment has been brimming with smart moves of late. We can’t see this one happening, as Icardi is surely only going to get his desired pay packet from the Saudi Pro League.
Sticking to strikers, Bayern Leverkusen striker Christian Kofane continues to be linked with a January switch to the Hill Dickinson Stadium. The Toffees were said to have had at least one bid turned down for the Cameroon international over the summer, but it’s believed that he’s still keen to seal a Premier League move in January. If Leverkusen can be talked down from the £60m+ they want, then Everton could be in business.
Will Everton sign Balogun in January?
Monaco's Folarin Balogun snubbed a Deadline Day move to Everton back in the summerplaceholder image
Monaco's Folarin Balogun snubbed a Deadline Day move to Everton back in the summer | Getty Images
Despite ultimately pulling out of a Deadline Day deal to join the Toffees - a decision which also scuppered Chelsea’s hopes of replacing Enzo Fernandez via a brutal domino effect - Monaco’s Folarin Balogun is said to be back on Everton’s radar. That said, plenty of other big clubs are also in the mix, and if he’s turned them down before, it would be a serious u-turn to reverse his decision and sign after all just a few months down the line.
Do Everton really need another central midfielder? With James Garner, Hayden Hackney, Christian Norgaard, Harrison Armstrong, Charly Alcaraz and Merlin Rohl all on the books, surely not. That hasn’t stopped them chasing Galatasaray’s Gabriel Sara, however, with reports suggesting the Toffees will battle Newcastle United to sign the Brazilian. Given the Toffees’ pressing needs elsewhere on the field, and the Turkish side’s reluctance to sell, we just don’t think this will happen.
The Toffees could do with another centre-back, as their existing options - excellent as they are - are either getting too long in the tooth to play a full season without a rest, or worrying injury prone. Newly minted Scotland international Luis Binks could be Everton’s answer, and they’re said to be among a host of clubs to have taken an interest in the Kent-born defender. He wouldn’t cost the world, and would apparently be keen on a move back to England having previously starred for Coventry City.
A final attacking option is the rather left-field Jose Lopez, who is a 25-year-old, eight-cap Argentina striker who has played his entire career to date in his home country. Everton are said to have scouted the forward closely, and have been impressed with his prolific scoring record, with the player exceeding the 20-goal mark in each of his last three seasons at Palmerias. With a rumoured £30m asking price, we could see this one happening.