No Premier League team endured a more chaotic transfer deadline day than Everton.
The Toffees were in desperate need of a striker, having let Beto go to Fiorentina. However, they were left with egg on their face as Folarin Balogun walked away from a deal, despite having turned up to Finch Farm for a medical, which proved to be anything but smooth. Manchester United also rejected a loan advance for Joshua Zirkzee.
Elsewhere, David Moyes lost arguably his best player in Iliman Ndiaye, who left to join Manchester City, while Tim Iroegbunam joined Hull City and Nathan Patterson left for Torino on a free transfer.
Everton didn’t leave entirely empty-handed, though. The Toffees signed some much-needed right-back cover in the form of ex-Arsenal man Ainsley Maitland-Niles. However, many fans have been left worried that Everton are too thin on the ground, with another relegation battle potentially looming large.
With all of that in mind, we’ve taken a look at Everton’s squad depth for 2026/27 to see where they’re strong and where the problems may come from.
Everton’s squad depth issues
Goalkeeper and defence
Goalkeeper
There are no issues for Everton here. Jordan Pickford is their and England’s undisputed No.1 and one of the most underrated goalkeepers on the planet. Without him, the Toffees could have suffered relegation on multiple occasions during their final years at Goodison Park. Behind Pickford, Mark Travers provides reliable backup, while one-time Wales international Tom King is also an experienced figure.
Full-back
Here we encounter one of Everton’s biggest problems. Jake O’Brien has slotted in reliably as a right-back for Moyes since his arrival from Lyon two years ago. But, by trade, the Republic of Ireland international is a centre-back. If we keep that in mind, the Toffees technically have just two recognised full-backs at the club. Vitaly Mykolenko and Maitland-Niles.
For now, you would expect O’Brien and Mykolenko to continue as the starting full-backs, with Maitland-Niles covering when one of them gets injured. Although understated, the latter could prove to be a vital arrival, with his versatility seeing him log extensive minutes in both full-back positions, central midfield, both wings and even centre-back during his career.
In a crisis, Moyes can also field Jarrad Branthwaite at left-back, with the 24-year-old deputising there on occasion for the Toffees. James Garner has also been used as a right-back to great success for Everton. But that would mean pulling their best midfielder out of position.
Centre-back
At first glance, Everton look desperately short at centre-back as well. In reality, it’s not quite as bad as it looks, but they’re not exactly flush with numerous quality options.
Branthwaite and James Tarkowski have been the first-choice duo for some time now. And it’s on their defensive strength that Everton have been competitive in recent years. The pair have made a promising start to the new campaign as well.
The worry for Everton is how injury-prone Branthwaite is. The centre-back has missed 51 games across the past two seasons due to injuries to his hamstring and groin.
What’s more, while Tarkowski has been utterly dependable in his four years on Merseyside, he turns 34 in November. So you cannot help but worry that his body could fail him eventually.
Michael Keane is first in line to cover if one of Moyes’ starters goes down. The 12-time England international has been a loyal servant for Everton, but nobody would have expected him to last nine years and counting at the club. At his best, he’s a no-nonsense, reliable defender who has a handy knack of scoring goals from set-pieces. At his worst, he’s a mistake-prone liability who lacks pace. You just don’t know which version will turn up.
If the worst should happen and Everton suffer multiple centre-back injuries, they will be forced to re-deploy O’Brien through the middle, putting strain on what is already a threadbare full-back pool.
Midfield
Defensive/central midfield
This is the one area where Everton actually look relatively comfortable. However, even that was a near-miss that required supporter intervention.
It looked for all the world just days ago that the Toffees would sell their prized academy graduate, Harrison Armstrong, to Nottingham Forest for £40million. The move would’ve provided the club with some much-needed relief on their profit and loss sheet. But would also see them lose arguably the most exciting talent to emerge from their youth system since Anthony Gordon or Ross Barkley.
The sale was eventually called off after supporter fury, with Evertonians singing Armstrong’s name throughout their 1-1 draw at Bournemouth last weekend. They were even threatening to ‘riot’ if the move was allowed to happen. Armstrong has started all three of their games so far this season and provided an assist in the 2-0 opening win over Crystal Palace. So this could prove to be a smart footballing decision.
As mentioned, James Garner is Everton’s best midfielder. And, since Ndiaye left, he’s arguably the best outfield player at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Everton have invested well around this duo. Hayden Hackney is a potential game-changer having been the best player in the Championship over the last few years, while Christian Norgaard provides vital solidity, composure and experience.
Attacking midfield
Everton are relatively well off in the No.10 department as well. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall registered eight goals and four assists in 31 Premier League appearances last season following his arrival from Chelsea. He ended the campaign second among his teammates for big chances created (10). The Englishman has already made a strong start to 2026/27, scoring one goal and averaging 3.02 chances created per 90 minutes across his two league outings.
Behind Dewsbury-Hall, Everton have the dynamic Carlos Alcaraz. Despite struggling last season, the Argentinian makes smart runs and can pick a pass in tight spaces. Merlin Rohl’s loan from Freiburg has also been made permanent, and it’s hoped the German will improve on his return of one goal and no assists in 17 appearances across all competitions last term.
Forwards
Wingers
Everton were highly active on the wings this summer, but they still appear to be much weaker than last season. The swap deal with Crystal Palace for Brennan Johnson and Dwight McNeil was one of the more bizarre transactions of the summer. Fans of both sides will probably argue that they came out on top. Johnson will at least provide Everton with some much-needed pace, while he has shown an eye for goal in the past for Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest.
Johnson will compete on the right with Tyler Dibling. The winger cost Everton a whopping £35m plus add-ons last summer, but clocked just 513 minutes across all competitions in 2025/26. Moyes has been criticised for his underuse of the England youth international, but he’s still only 20 years old. And he may now get his chance following the sale of Ndiaye — which hasn’t gone down well.
On the left, Jack Grealish has returned for another loan following his highly successful spell last season that was frustratingly cut short by injury. He is going to be absolutely vital to the Toffees’ attacking hopes now that Ndiaye is no longer around. The 39-time England international ranked second at Everton for chances created (38) and assists (6) last season, despite managing just 1,631 minutes.
Tyrique George is another loanee whom Everton have converted into a permanent transfer. The 20-year-old is yet to register his first direct goal involvement since joining from Chelsea in January. But he has started both of Everton’s Premier League games this season and looked dangerous against Palace — creating two chances and attempting a match-high five shots, while completing two of his three attempted dribbles.
Striker
And here we come to Everton’s biggest problem of all. The summer window was nothing but a disaster for the Toffees’ striker options. Everything that could go wrong, did so.
Beto was Everton’s top scorer last season with nine Premier League goals and 10 overall. The 28-year-old was never a reliable source of output for the Toffees and was perpetually guilty of missing big chances. However, he provided immense work rate and physicality and at least got himself into positions to score more than most. Now, he will wear the violet of Fiorentina.
Everton’s failed move for Folarin Balogun was one of the most eye-catching dramas of deadline day. Everything appeared to be signed and sealed between them and Monaco, only for Everton to highlight concerns with the player’s medical.
The Toffees turned to other options, despite Balogun still being in the building, but failed in a loan push for Joshua Zirkzee. Everton then renegotiated a lower fee for Balogun, only to see the player walk away from the deal at the final moment amid perceived disrespect from the club. There have also been accusations that Everton only raised medical concerns to try and drive Monaco’s price down.
Barry on his own
Either way, Thierno Barry is now the only recognised striker in the building.
Barry cost an initial £27m from Villarreal last summer, but was patchy at best in his debut campaign on Merseyside. He ended with just eight goals in 38 Premier League appearances. What’s more, four of those goals came in a six-game spell during late December and early January. He also endured a tumultuous relationship with his supporters due to an incident with his friends celebrating a goal against Everton in the away end at Arsenal in March.
The Frenchman has made a much more promising start to his campaign, scoring the clinching goal against Crystal Palace before dropping a hat-trick and an assist in Everton’s 4-0 demolition of Preston North End in the EFL Cup. However, he appeared to revert to the norm at Bournemouth, missing two big chances and failing to score from three shots worth 1.48 Expected Goals.
Barry may yet turn out to be a success for Everton. However, an injury or failure to maintain his promising start to the season could prove cataclysmic for the Toffees, whose next natural striker options would have to come from the academy in the form of untested youngsters like Braiden Graham, Omari Benjamin and Martin Sherif.
This is the biggest worry among Everton supporters right now, and exactly the reason why they’re bracing themselves for another potential relegation scrap.