David Moyes Faces Frustration with Everton's Thin Squad

David Moyes cut a frustrated figure as he surveyed what is left of his Everton squad – and it does not amount to much.

Days after the transfer window slammed shut, the Scot is staring at a season with just 18 senior outfield players and only one recognised striker, a scenario he did not expect when the summer began.

A frantic deadline day underlined the problem. A move for Monaco forward Folarin Balogun, lined up to bolster Everton’s attack, collapsed late on. Iliman Ndiaye, meanwhile, was sold to Manchester City, stripping away another attacking option and leaving Moyes even lighter up front.

“Disappointed we didn't do more business, disappointed things didn't go our way in the end,” Moyes admitted in his pre-match press conference before Manchester United’s visit on Sunday. “But sometimes in football you have to live with disappointments and we will and we'll move on.”

The Balogun saga has already sparked debate. Monaco managing director Thiago Scuro revealed that the USA international pulled out of the deal himself, unhappy with how Everton handled him.

An issue flagged during Balogun’s medical prompted Everton to try to renegotiate the terms of what had been reported as a £40 million move. Both clubs were still ready to push the transfer through, but the striker walked away.

“There were lots of different bits to it. It wasn't anybody's fault,” Moyes said. “Ultimately it happens in football a lot. The player had a problem in his medical and that was simply it.”

So Moyes goes into the new campaign armed with a thin group, but not a beaten one.

Everton flirted with Europe for much of last season before a late slump dragged them down to 13th. That taste of the upper half has not left their manager. He has been clear since his arrival: he does not see himself, or this club, as relegation-battle material.

He wants European nights back. He wants Everton pushing the top end, not glancing nervously over their shoulders.

“I'm getting too old now to be sitting around at the bottom end. I've said that to the players here when I came in,” the former Manchester United boss said. “The job is that we challenge as close to the top end of the league as we can.

“I've got to say, they've done a brilliant job of it last year, and I don't think we were expected to do so well as what we've done.

“I've got to hope that we can do that again. There might not be a great expectation on us at this moment in time, but behind the scenes I'm rallying them.”

The squad is light. The expectations outside Goodison are low. Moyes, though, is already talking about a push up the table rather than a fight to stay in it. The question now is whether this stripped-back group can match the manager’s ambition over a long, unforgiving season.