Summer Transfer Window 2025 Thread

[Saint Domingo]

We’re not the only club struggling. In the last week Howe and Glasner, both in Europe btw, have come out frustrated as to where their clubs are. Fact is we need more players than they do.

Despite the super league being “killed off” that’s exactly where we are. There may as well be 3 transfer windows.
- The PSR one where the big boys pick off your players if you’re in trouble
- this one where only really the Top 6 and CL clubs buy
- and then the last two weeks to scoop up who is left.

The transfer market being uncompetitive is a direct correlation to the financial rules preventing competition.

I get Moyes frustration and he’s doing what he’s doing to keep pressure on the recruitment team but equally it’s not a good look for the club.

One thing that has changed in my opinion is the attitude of some players now. Even 20 years ago if you said to a top player in the championship ‘do you want to come and play first team football for Everton’ they’d be absolutely all over it as they knew the call from the CL clubs was never coming, and even if it was they didn’t want to sit on the bench.

Now it feels like every single player who is even half decent wants European football, a ginormous wage, to play for Chelsea or Liverpool, and game time is utterly irrelevant to them. Given the choice between being squad player #999 in Chelsea or playing first 11 for Everton almost every single player would rather do the first one, collect their money, live in London, and say they ‘play’ champions league football. Some are even choosing to stay in the academy of big clubs than play first team football for other PL clubs.

It’s an absolutely bizarre situation but there’s definitely something up with the market when championship players and academy kids who aren’t even the cream of the crop are turning down guaranteed minutes in mid table PL teams.

 

[Marcus Kendall]

Were you perhaps typing loudly?

I do have fat fingers

 

[Marcus Kendall]

So is my Mrs but I don't want to see her in an Everton shirt either

Tidy or bang tidy?

 

[Neiler]

I'm on board with the sentiment, but we seem to be showing that very aspiration, and in so doing we're getting stuck in the mud waiting for players to make a decision.

Should we leap straight from those players to Brownhill and the likes? No, but there seems to need to be some kind of compromise between doing great deals and doing quick deals.

Volume of perceived signings needed as well comes into play as well mate. In a different context 4 In before Aug isn’t so bad.

I think that’s what has people cracking a bit the last couple of days, the percived scale and volume.

 

[toffeeblue9]

It’s a good job Moyes isn’t on here ain’t it cos the condescending Bells on here would be telling him there’s plenty of time left and to calm down, along with the side splitting hilarious “bed wetter” and “dry you soaking sheets Moyes”.

But I doubt anyone is saying that they aren't disappointed we haven't got at least one or two more in by now?

I'm confident that Moyes doesn't think we'd have all our business done by now and I'm confident he thinks we should have had at least another player or two in by now as well.

The bed wetting comes when divs start throwing around lines like "just lash a bid in", "just pay whatever it takes", "just go and get Fellows" etc

 

[windymiller]

It's all relative isn't it? Nobody really wants Brownhill and Keane here, it's just a discussion about whether in the real world they can do a job for us. I mean to be honest you'd think most people would have come round to the idea of re-signing Keane by now purely on the basis that we're massively behind where we need to be in terms of new signings as it is, adding in someone else that we needed to find hardly seems like it would have helped.

I think a combination of factors is resulting in our inability to make progress in the transfer market. Changing ownership in January and then not having a recruitment team, even now, in place to properly plan for the summer combined with limited finances is not helpful. I also get the argument that having players in hand means there's less for the recruitment team to do. However, I've said it before and I'll continue to say it, signing bad players is never a good idea. You don't think Keane and Brownhill aren't that bad, fair enough, I don't think Brownhill is awful I just don't think he's an upgrade on anything we have, but Keane is a dreadful player. We'll have to disagree on this one, I'm afraid.

 

[Taifi gorm]

Trying to find anything worthwhile in here.

 

[Tipp blue]

I thought the same but I'm not so sure now. Maybe it is just us going for unattainable targets or maybe the financial packages we can offer aren't that great? None of the lads we've signed will be on huge money and we've shipped out some big earners. Maybe we just can't offer the wages that players are looking for? I'm all for bringing down the wage bill but, if that is the case, why are we sniffing around the Douglas Luizs, McAtees and Fofanas of this world?

Tried and tested Kenwright tactic that.. File under Riquelme and Moutinho, Fans are thrilled then when it doesn't happen "at least we tried" I expect Grealish to join this list too.

 

[evertony]

Whats the riskiest gamble?

1. Hanging on to save a few bob or to wait for some trumpet to get offered European football before they'll sign....and then miss out;
2. Go a bit more gung-ho and throw bigger money at 2-3 key targets like McAtee, Kubo and Luiz for example;
3. Bin the 'elite' targets off and get 6-7 'might-be's' in like Brownhill, AMN, Soucek etc?

We're at the stage where we need to go gung-ho on one of the three options.

I'd go route 2 with the view that with a following wind we could improve in the short-term AND very likley sell the likes of McAtee, Kubo and Barry for a decent profit in 12-18 months.

 

[AdyD]

I’m not worried as I just said we would of got 60 points we Moyes last year, we got a decent team, and we will get more players, we lost to both West Ham and Bournemouth but 4 of the 5 goals where mistakes by our team, something you want to happen in preseason.
Missing Pickford, JB and Tarks is huge, 3 of our better players

We probably would of done and he did a great job with that squad in the end but at the minute if we don’t improve enough and others around us do then we’re standing still aren’t we, which in football standing still is effectively goi g backwards these days

 

[evertony]

Much rather go for Yves Bissouma in the mid, has a bit of Mousa Dembele energy about him... Need such player in the middle. Josh Brownhill just seems like a James McCarthy.

I'd take a James McCarthy any day of the week tbh

 

[Manx Blue]

We are going to Leeds with Jimmy Garner and a 35 year old, soon turning 36 (September), anchoring our midfield and zero pace across the three in front of them.

 

[brieverton]

We’re not the only club struggling. In the last week Howe and Glasner, both in Europe btw, have come out frustrated as to where their clubs are. Fact is we need more players than they do.

Despite the super league being “killed off” that’s exactly where we are. There may as well be 3 transfer windows.
- The PSR one where the big boys pick off your players if you’re in trouble
- this one where only really the Top 6 and CL clubs buy
- and then the last two weeks to scoop up who is left.

The transfer market being uncompetitive is a direct correlation to the financial rules preventing competition.

I get Moyes frustration and he’s doing what he’s doing to keep pressure on the recruitment team but equally it’s not a good look for the club.

Good points, and it also explains why Man City feel entitled to ask for £40m for McAtee.

It solidifies my view that clubs in Evertons position must pivot away, at least in part, from getting into auctions, and dealing with the elite clubs domestically and the bigger clubs abroad. We've done that with Barry and Anzou. More of it I say.

I don't like comparing us to Brighton and never want to see Everton positioned as a club where big trading profits are seen as a virtue and an achievement in themselves - they are not - but we could still learn a thing from clubs like them, Bournemouth, and Brentford.

All of those clubs have had at least some success in shopping at levels that were appropriate for their clubs and raised the collective bar of the playing squad. Perhaps they had their teething problems too, but they seem to have developed strategies which got them from A to B and that work for them.

We need to have a nimble, flexible, and creative approach embracing a global market.

 

[danny147]

Signing, and re-signing, bad players doesn't result in continuous improvement. It results, at best, in stagnation and at worst in decline.

If we bring in 2 out of contract players as backup that moyes thinks can help if needed and use funds saved to then bring in 3 boss players that massively improve the first 11 that is not stagnation as our first team has improved and the backups wont offer any less than broja, mangala, lindstrom etc We cant bring in 5 or 6 players on big fees and wages as we can’t afford it.

Next transfer window replace one or two of the backup for first teamers, next summer replace a few of the backup with first teamers again and its continuous improvement.

 

[windymiller]

One thing that has changed in my opinion is the attitude of some players now. Even 20 years ago if you said to a top player in the championship ‘do you want to come and play first team football for Everton’ they’d be absolutely all over it as they knew the call from the CL clubs was never coming, and even if it was they didn’t want to sit on the bench.

Now it feels like every single player who is even half decent wants European football, a ginormous wage, to play for Chelsea or Liverpool, and game time is utterly irrelevant to them. Given the choice between being squad player #999 in Chelsea or playing first 11 for Everton almost every single player would rather do the first one, collect their money, live in London, and say they ‘play’ champions league football. Some are even choosing to stay in the academy of big clubs than play first team football for other PL clubs.

It’s an absolutely bizarre situation but there’s definitely something up with the market when championship players and academy kids who aren’t even the cream of the crop are turning down guaranteed minutes in mid table PL teams.

I don't think we should underestimate what three or four years of being in the relegation mix has done for the club's perceived status. If you look at the articles in the press that have been predicting league finishes, you'll see that quite a few of them have put us in the "relegation candidates" category again. It's sad to say but clubs like Forest and Fulham are now seen by some players as a more attractive destination.