Everton's 2025/26 transfers: Hits and misses

Jack Grealish and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall of Everton.

(Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

Everton made 10 signings in 2025-26 — seven permanent deals and three players joined on loan, with the agreement for one of those, Merlin Röhl, including an obligation to make the move permanent this coming summer.

It’s fair to say it was a mixed bag when it came to the success rate.

In an interview with Toffee TV back in September, Everton’s CEO Angus Kinnear said the success of the new signings would be measured on whether those players featured for at least 50% of the “available minutes” (presumably, that means that players who suffer long-term injuries aren’t necessarily counted as failures) across the campaign.

It’s a strange yard stick, and if we used that barometer, then only three of Everton’s signings can be put down as a success. That’s probably about right, in all fairness, but it doesn’t take into account that two additions were back-up goalkeepers, who you would be hoping aren’t playing over 50% of available minutes.

So, we won’t use the club’s measurement, and instead I’ll assess how I felt each of Everton’s additions got on.

MARK TRAVERS (£4M) — HIT

He’s a back-up goalkeeper. He played twice, both in the EFL Cup. Everton won one of those matches and lost the other, and while Travers didn’t cover himself in glory against Wolves, he was hardly terrible. It’s a hit for me, all things considered, though he’d have had to be pretty awful to be a miss.

TOM KING (~£500K) — HIT

Like Travers, King would have had to go a long way to be a miss, given he was brought in as a third-choice goalkeeper, and he has fulfilled the role he was brought in for. So, in that regard, he’s a hit.

ADAM AZNOU (£8M) — MISS

It feels harsh labelling Aznou as a miss, as he simply hasn’t had the minutes needed to try and show what he can do. He’s only just about to turn 20, and so he has time on his side, but given he made just one senior appearance all season — an impressive cameo in the FA Cup against Sunderland — he can’t go down as a hit.

Aznou was clearly seen as a development signing by Everton, but how is he meant to develop if he is not playing? Surely, he could have been given a few minutes here or there in the first half of the season, and allowed to settle into the club, before getting moved out on loan in January. The plan for next season has to be a lot clearer for the Moroccan.

CARLOS ALCARAZ (£12M) — MISS 

Alcaraz ended last season in fine form, and it seemed a no-brainer to sign up the Argentine. Everton also managed to negotiate down the fee, though there was some contention when the club revealed the playmaker had signed only a two-year deal, with the option for a third.

Alcaraz scored just once this season, netting a beauty in the EFL Cup against Mansfield Town. Otherwise, he provided only one assist, which came in the league win over Bournemouth in December. The 23-year-old has plenty of talent, but is erratic on the ball and it seems David Moyes just can’t see beyond that.

He should have been given more minutes — perhaps playing him more would mean Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall would not have ended up quite as tired late in the season — but let’s also not pretend he is absolutely outstanding, either.

It’d be a shame if Alcaraz were to be moved on, but given the small fee Everton paid for him, they should be able to make their money back.

KIERNAN DEWSBURY-HALL (£25M) — HIT

No doubt about this one. Dewsbury-Hall was an instant hit and showed exactly the calibre of player Everton needed to be targeting last summer: Someone to provide a guaranteed level of output. Goals, assists, chance creation, energy and leadership.

Dewsbury-Hall dipped in form around October, but he came back in full force then before he suffered a cruel injury just before Christmas. When he returned, he needed to work his way back to fitness, but consistently proved to be Everton’s go-to-man in key moments.

More signings of his level are required to go straight into the team this coming summer.

MERLIN RÖHL (LOAN TO BUY) — HIT

Röhl came in for unnecessary stick earlier in the season, based on some hardly inspiring cameos in matches. But the word was he was impressing in training. The issue, however, was that he was carrying an injury that needed resolving.

He came back from a lay-off around Christmas and played well against Nottingham Forest and then Aston Villa, only for Moyes to bizarrely leave him out until later in the campaign, when he then went on to make an impact on the right flank.

But Röhl has shown his strengths: He is versatile, good in possession and quick, especially for a central midfielder. There is enough there to be positive about heading into next season.

JACK GREALISH (LOAN) — HIT 

Reports last summer suggested Everton were hunting a “premium loan”, and that loanee was Grealish.

And he was, and is, class. It gets glossed over, but if he doesn’t suffer that serious foot injury in January, then I find it hard to see Everton having the drop-off they did late on in the campaign, when they badly lacked another option to retain the ball and create chances.

Despite that injury, Grealish still created the second-most chances for Everton, after James Garner, even though he missed almost half the campaign.

It seems likely Everton will do all they can to keep the 30-year-old, and there’s no doubting they’d be a better team for it, but they have to be wary of going too big financially to get the signing over the line. Another loan move, if they can strike it with Manchester City, would be sensible, given what Grealish brings both on and off the pitch.

TYLER DIBLING (£35M) — MISS

My issue with this signing at the time, and it has only been further compounded across the season, is that Dibling was simply not the type of winger Everton needed.

After signing Grealish, Everton did not need another winger who wants to slow down the play before exploding off a standing start. Instead, they required someone with all-out pace and a more direct approach.

That’s not to say Dibling is a bad player, he clearly isn’t, and he’s so young, but Everton weren’t in a position last year to be spending marquee-signing money on a player who is so early on in their development.

He should still have been given more minutes, and Moyes’ use of him — especially post-January — was incredibly frustrating. At the same time, this is a lesson for the club, too. Dibling now needs a strong pre-season, and the club must ensure he gets the required game time next term, either here, or out on loan. But for now, at that price, he has to be a miss.

TYRIQUE GEORGE (LOAN) — HIT

George played only 210 minutes and did not score or assist, but he provided the kind of spark and drive that Everton should have been prioritising last summer.

He is quick across the ground, is not afraid to shoot and also showed he can get to the byline and deliver dangerous deliveries. In that sense, he was a hit, but he did not get enough minutes — and again, that is the fault of Moyes.

Everton have a purchase option, but that will not last forever and they need to make a call on whether to spend close to £25m on another youngster, or if that money could be better directed elsewhere in the squad for now.

THIERNO BARRY (£27M) — MISS

Everton spent £27m to sign Barry from Villarreal, and all in all, a return of eight Premier League goals in his first season in England is not bad for the 23-year-old.

But it just feels like there’s a bit too much drama and baggage around him.

Barry has had his moments: His first goal for the club, against Nottingham Forest in December, and his second, which came against the same team to clinch a brilliant away win. There was his deft finish against Aston Villa and his bundled home winner against Newcastle United, while he also bagged what should have been a decisive double against Man City.

Yet Barry still seems to have a long way to go to win over Evertonians, especially after the attitude he showed in the wake of the furore over the Arsenal game in mid-March.

It feels like Everton need to make a decision to sell one of their strikers this summer, and while Beto is older and heading into the final year of his deal, it might well depend on whether Barry wants to make a future at this club. If he pushes for a move away, then it’s not hard to imagine the club deciding not to stand in his way.

Read more - It wasn't all bad: The positives for Everton from 2025-26

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