Everton are prepared to wait until the end of the transfer window to make their move for Jack Grealish, with the club looking to get a better deal this summer if they re-sign the Manchester City winger.
Once again, it is proving a complex transfer window at Hill Dickinson Stadium – where this summer’s priority is to strengthen the first XI rather than the entire squad overhaul that was required in 2025.
With Everton’s short-term aim to establish themselves in the category of clubs competing to be the “best of the rest” – think Aston Villa and Newcastle – improvement is clearly required.
CEO Angus Kinnear’s claim that he was “happily dissatisfied” with 13th place did not quite chime with the view among the fanbase that last season was an opportunity missed.
One way to remedy that is in the transfer market. But that is not easily achieved and in the background there remain two different agendas to satisfy.
Manager David Moyes is happiest working with proven quality while Everton’s influential transfer committee has one eye on the future and a recruitment profile that leans towards players with a high potential ceiling aged between 18-25.
We have completed the signing of Hayden Hackney from Middlesbrough for an undisclosed fee.
— Everton (@Everton) July 2, 2026
Welcome to Everton, Hayden!
Marquee signing Hayden Hackney – of whom much is expected next season after the club sold him a pivotal role in their tilt to return to Europe – ticked both boxes.
But juggling competing priorities with a budget that may have to be supplemented by sales to protect their position under financial fair play rules in this transfer window is a challenge.
Grealish is a player Everton would make an exception for and there is certainly a desire to bring him back to Merseyside, where he enjoyed a fruitful loan spell last season. That transfer cost in the region of £12m and Everton do not want to commit that kind of money to another loan, which is the most likely path for him to return.
Grealish is also recovering from a serious injury and Everton would want to see how far along his recovery is before resuming talks with Manchester City, who are open to letting him leave again.
With Grealish in the final year of his contract, though, they want to maximise their return on the 30-year-old before he can leave on a free transfer.
It all points to some tough negotiations ahead, and potentially a decision in the later stages of next month about whether Grealish returns.
Everton’s transfer priority
In the meantime, the priority for Everton is to sign a new right-back. The club have considered a move for long-term target Brooke Norton-Cuffy, the 22-year-old Genoa full-back, but that deal does not have universal support among the club’s transfer power brokers, so they are looking at alternative targets.
Spurs defender Djed Spence had admirers at Everton but his excellent World Cup performances may now put him out of the club’s reach and Toffees’ sources indicate that they are prepared to play the waiting game for the “ideal” candidate to fill the right-back slot.
Jake O’Brien, who filled in towards the end of the season, and Merlin Rohl may end up deputising during pre-season.
Elsewhere, Everton are spinning plates on recruiting another midfielder, winger and a No 2 goalkeeper who can push Jordan Pickford.
A new striker does not appear to be on the cards. The club are “open to market opportunities” later in the transfer window but at the moment the plan is to continue into the new season with Thierno Barry and Beto.
Time will tell whether that gives them the sort of firepower required to improve on last season’s underwhelming 13th-placed finish.
Who could leave Everton?
There are varying degrees of uncertainty around the futures of Charly Alcaraz, Tim Iroegbunam and Mark Travers – who all have interest – while Idrissa Gueye is unlikely to accept fresh terms on offer from Everton.
Iroegbunam is well thought of and Everton would not let him go on the cheap – especially considering the midfield market this summer – but they have to have one eye on keeping their squad cost ratio as low as possible.
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While they will not have a problem complying with the Premier League’s 85 per cent squad cost rule for clubs not in Europe, Everton’s aspiration to return to those competitions means they are trying to extract value from deals this summer.
So far they have done that in the backdrop of extortionate fees being paid elsewhere. Tyrique George, Hackney and Rohl all seem like the right age and price but there is clearly more work to do.
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