Everton manager David Moyes celebrates after the match
Everton manager David Moyes celebrates after the match
Rumours concerning Amanda Staveley and an Everton takeover are gaining pace. After all, the Friedkin Group want to sell up after less than two years, placing that all-too-familiar feeling of doubt at the heart of the Toffees persuasion.
At the end of the 2025/26 campaign, Hill Dickinson technical director Angus Kinnear spoke of his frustration over the Toffees' 13th-place Premier League finish. It was a "failure", he said, with a 3-0 win over Chelsea in March putting Everton in tangible reach of a ticket into the Champions League.
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A seven-game winless run to end the term scuppered that, and Everton just needed to be backed in the transfer market to avoid disaster.
That didn't happen, and while David Moyes steadied the ship after a window which narrowed the scope of the Merseysiders' ambitions, it looks like the end of the Friedkin Group could also draw down the final curtain on Moyes' long, two-part career at the club.
Why Moyes should leave Everton at the end of the season
Moyes' two-and-a-half-year contract with Everton expires at the end of the season. It's already been suggested that club-and-manager talks have not taken place, casting Moyes' long-term future on Merseyside into doubt.
Already, news from Scotland suggests that Moyes may be returning home in 2027. Celtic are angling for an appointment which would surely consolidate their position as the dominant side in the Scottish Premiership, and it would see Moyes assume management out of England for the first time since that miserable stint at Real Sociedad in 2014/15.
The likes of TEAMtalk have also confirmed recent talks between Staveley and Everton, who have been listed for sale by the Friedkin Group, casting a deep and unsettling kind of malaise over an outfit who are crying out for some security and a clear pathway toward higher ground.
Staveley showed when she led the PIF takeover at Newcastle United a kind of ruthlessness which was needed to support the genesis of a new era on Tyneside. The Magpies went on to enjoy heights unscaled for many, many years, winning the Carabao Cup in 2025.
Everton manager David Moyes reacts
Everton manager David Moyes reacts
One of her first decisions was to sack Steve Bruce and replace Eddie Howe. Expect a similar trail of thought to dictate her thinking at Everton, should the cogs fall into place.
However, Moyes is hardly the only one at risk.
Everton flop will be finished is Staveley arrives
Moyes may not want to stay at Everton beyond the duration of his contract. The 63-year-old has already intimated his desire to lead the club for a shorter span this time.
Staveley would surely cut him loose. If she arrives at the Hill Dickinson, changes will soon follow, and Everton could find themselves quickly cutting their losses on Tyler Dibling, with the exciting attacker yet to find and sustain form since leaving his post as Southampton's starboy and signing for the Toffees in a £40m deal last summer.
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We have seen flashes of promise this term, but it looks like Dibling will simply fail to thrive under Moyes' wing. The combination does not work, and Dibling, 20 years old, has only played 34 minutes of Premier League football this season, emerging from the bench across his side's past two matches.
He's a direct and dynamic attacker who causes issues. Yet this is a far cry from the "world-class talent", as he has been praised by youth coach Andy Goldie, who ran rampant for Saints, a bright spark during a dim period for the south coast club.
However, Staveley's is an analytical mind, and there is very little to suggest that Dibling will end up giving Everton bang for their buck. At the end of the 2026/27 campaign, he will only have two years left on his contract, and cashing in and reinvesting down the right wing might be the order of the day - especially when considering how Iliman Ndiaye hasn't been replaced after being sold to Manchester City in August.
Neither Dibling or Moyes could be around on Merseyside next season. Regarding Moyes, it's understandable, though Kinnear and Staveley would have to hit the nail on the head when finding a replacement, lest Everton stumble into a deeper and darker kind of purgatory.
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For Dibling to leave with the branding of a flop would be a great shame, but Moyes will remain in charge for the remainder of the campaign, and it's clear now that he does not value Dibling as a regular starter.
If Staveley comes in seeking instant results, cashing in on Dibling while he still retains his re-sell value could be a no-brainer for the astute businesswoman.
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