David Moyes warns Everton still short as transfer deadline approaches
David Moyes walked away from Deepdale with a 4-0 win and a place in the next round of the Carabao Cup. What he did not take back to Merseyside was any sense that his squad is ready for the Premier League grind.
“I still think we’re short in the squad,” the Everton manager said after Preston North End had been swept aside. The scoreline was emphatic. His assessment of the club’s transfer work was anything but.
Numbers that don’t add up for Moyes
Everton have brought in five players this summer. On paper, that looks like a decent rebuild. In Moyes’ mind, it is far less dramatic.
Two of those arrivals, Tyrique George and Merlin Rohl, were already in the building at the end of last season, having finished the campaign on loan. Moyes effectively counts only three fresh faces: Hayden Hackney, Christian Norgaard and Brennan Johnson.
Set that against the departures and the picture shifts again. Seamus Coleman and Idrissa Gueye have gone after their contracts expired. Dwight McNeil has moved on as part of the deal that brought Johnson from Crystal Palace. Jack Grealish has returned to Manchester City after his loan ended.
Strip it back, and Moyes believes he is operating with a group that is actually smaller than the one he inherited last term – and that squad was already among the leanest in the Premier League.
“We thought our squad was quite thin last year and at the moment, I think we're still one down, if my numbers work out,” he said. “We're one down from where we were even last year. So I still think we're short in the squad. I still think we're short in quality in some places. I need to try and add that.”
Six days remain in the window. For Moyes, they cannot drift by quietly.
Right-back priority and Grealish question
The most obvious hole remains at right-back. It has been a long-running issue at Everton and, despite being the only specialist in the position, Nathan Patterson is not viewed internally as the long-term answer.
The club continue to search for a solution on that flank while keeping open a line of communication with Manchester City over a possible Grealish return. The playmaker impressed in flashes on loan last season and remains on Everton’s radar, but he is no longer a secret. Aston Villa and Sunderland are among the clubs now showing interest, complicating any attempt to bring him back to Goodison Park.
Everton, conscious of both squad balance and financial realities, are also prepared to listen to offers for some players if it helps reshape the group in these final days.
Futures in the air
Beto’s situation underlined that uncertainty at Preston. The forward stayed on the bench throughout the 4-0 win and, at full-time, handed his shirt to a supporter – a small gesture, but one that will do little to quiet talk about his future.
Patterson, Beto, Carlos Alcaraz and Tim Iroegbunam are all in the final year of their contracts, though some deals include club options to extend. It leaves Everton with decisions to make now, not next summer.
The sense is of a squad in transition, still being carved into the shape Moyes wants, while the fixtures edge closer and the margin for error narrows.
O’Brien stays in Moyes’ plans
One player whose name has circulated in the rumour mill is Jake O’Brien. The centre-back did not feature against Preston, prompting more questions about whether Everton would be open to offers.
Moyes pushed back on that idea and was clear that O’Brien still has a part to play.
“Just the same. No problem, I’ve chosen at the moment not to use him, but he’ll be used in plenty of games, no doubt,” he said.
The message was simple: absence from one cup tie does not equal exile.
What is less simple is the task in front of Moyes. A heavy away win has offered a glimpse of what this Everton side can do. His own words laid bare what it still lacks. With the window closing fast, the next few days will show whether the club can give him the extra quality he insists is missing – or whether he goes into another season knowing he is still one body light.
