Premier League 2025-26 Preview No 9: Everton

Guardian writers’ predicted position: 13th (NB: this is not needfully Andy Hunter’s prediction but nan mean of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position: 13th

Prospects

Building a caller stadium befitting Everton’s ambitions proved a fraught and costly process. The aforesaid is existent of David Moyes’s attempts to build a caller squad to realise those ambitions. Everton must dream that, for illustration Hill Dickinson Stadium, their exhaustive efforts yet salary off.

The consciousness astir Everton is astatine likelihood pinch nan reality of Moyes’s summertime astatine present. The move to a modern caller home – which, contempt Unesco’s objections, is nan finest improvement on nan River Mersey successful decades – has generated a positivity unfamiliar to Evertonians aft excessively agelong successful nan doldrums. But it is not nan only source. A blessed extremity to nan Farhad Moshiri era, stableness and communal consciousness nether The Friedkin Group, nan team’s uplift nether Moyes successful nan 2nd half of past season, Moyes himself, pinch his expertise to rebuild a broadside and relationship to nan fanbase, each constituent to a nine turning their troubles astir and moving forward. But nan squad? Not truthful much.

Everton took 31 points from 19 convention games nether Moyes past season, a melodramatic betterment connected nan 17 from 19 collected successful nan fag extremity of Sean Dyche’s reign. Extrapolated crossed nan campaign, Everton’s shape nether nan returning Scot would person been bully capable to decorativeness eighth. That, successful Moyes’s view, is wherever Everton should beryllium aiming adjacent and nan bare minimum for a nine of this stature. He want European qualification and an extremity to nan club’s 30-year trophy drought, not a humble measurement to mid-table.

But 9 members of past season’s first squad squad departed this summertime – galore pinch sizeable Premier League acquisition – and attempts to switch and upgrade them person been mostly frustrated. Moyes, now portion of a shot activity squad that shapes recruitment, has missed retired connected galore targets pinch first-choice options deterred by nan deficiency of European shot and excessively galore caller scrapes pinch relegation. It doesn’t committedness to beryllium a hectic extremity to nan transportation window; it has to beryllium one.

The manager

The Friedkin Group’s first large telephone arsenic Everton proprietor could not person worked retired better. Everton were 1 constituent supra nan relegation area and successful dismal shape erstwhile Dyche was sacked successful January. Moyes was quickly invited back aft a 12-year absence and swiftly improved nan squad successful each departments to banish relegation fears pinch ease. Age and nan demands of nan modern dressing room whitethorn person mellowed nan 62-year-old, who received an OBE successful June for his services to football, but he is arsenic eager arsenic ever and nan cleanable foreman for nan reconstruction that Everton require.

Off-field picture

Last play was dominated by an affectional farewell to Goodison Park, location to Everton’s men’s squad for 133 years and now nan caller location for Everton’s women, and a stadium will return centre shape again arsenic nan nine relocate to a magnificent caller residence connected nan banks of nan River Mersey. Hill Dickinson Stadium heralds a much-needed caller commencement and will thief amended Everton’s finances pinch greater commercialized opportunities astatine nan 52,888-capacity venue. Access to and from nan stadium will return immoderate getting utilized to, and Moyes will beryllium keen not to suffer nan intimidating advantages that Goodison offered.

Star signing

At nan clip of penning location is not a awesome excavation to take from but Everton’s standout signing is undoubtedly nan France Under-21 guardant Thierno Barry from Villarreal. Barry, arsenic he prefers to beryllium called, is 6ft 5in and had an awesome effect aft joining nan Spanish broadside from Basel past summer. He scored 11 goals successful La Liga arsenic Villarreal secured a return to nan Champions League pinch a fifth-placed finish. An emerging imaginable who costs £27m and is 23 successful October, nan striker fits nan floor plan of signing that Everton want arsenic they create a squad nether Moyes.

Everton’s Thierno Barry connected nan shot successful a friends against Manchester United. Photograph: Todd Kirkland/Premier League/Getty Images

Stepping up

The 18-year-old Harrison Armstrong is connected nan correct pathway, though Everton’s fortunes successful nan transportation marketplace whitethorn find his adjacent step. The Liverpool-born midfielder made his Premier League debut past season, impressed connected his first FA Cup commencement and signed a semipermanent statement successful February earlier joining Derby connected loan. There was besides an world debut for England Under-18s, who he captained against France successful March. Armstrong benefited from 15 appearances for Derby and has looked crisp successful pre-season. Another indebtedness move has been mooted but location could beryllium opportunity astatine Everton fixed their shortage of midfielders. A precocious determination beckons.

A large play for …

Everton’s captain, Séamus Coleman, has thing to beryllium and could front retired a celebrated fig without making different appearance. But that is not really he will attack his 17th and perchance last play arsenic an Everton player. A bid of injuries constricted nan defender to 4 starts past play but his beingness down nan scenes, continually upholding standards and reinforcing what it intends to play for Everton, made it important for Moyes that he received different 12-month contract. Coleman led retired Everton successful their last crippled astatine Goodison and could do nan aforesaid successful their first astatine Hill Dickinson Stadium, but he will beryllium hopeless to lend much connected nan pitch.