It’s all been a bit crumby at Everton over the past several seasons, with issues and inconsistencies leaving the club in a lowly position, creating a perpetual struggle.
But things aren’t all doom and gloom. Sean Dyche’s side have clearly made improvements after a terrible start to the season. One loss in five Premier League matches has kept the Toffees above the relegation zone.
No doubt Everton must make further headway if they are to end this endless period of strife and return to their former strength at the top end of the table. With The Friedkin Group bounding toward Merseyside, this could become more realistic in the coming months.
Striking true in the transfer market is a must. Everton have endured their fair share of transfer howlers across the span of Farhad Moshiri’s dysfunctional reign, but what about the ones that did hit the mark?
Everton's best recent market moves
Everton have of course endured some difficulties in the transfer market over the past several years but if you separate the wheat from the chaff you will find some bargains that have kept Goodison Park afloat.
Take James Tarkowski. Signed on a free transfer in June 2022 after his contract with Burnley expired, the experienced centre-half has been a moveless pillar, yet to miss a top-flight fixture after two-and-a-half years. He hasn’t been perfect this term but what a servant.
Dig a bit deeper, and Romelu Lukaku would be another. The Belgian scored 87 goals across four seasons for Everton before Manchester United came a-calling and deposited an initial £75m on his boots in 2017. Some figure.
Talking of sales, Richarlison also deserves some chatter for his impressive years spent as a Blue before being sold for a pretty penny indeed.
And he’s hardly been brilliant since.
Everton hit the jackpot with Richarlison
Let’s get one thing straight: Everton didn’t exactly pluck Richarlison out of the unknown for a nominal fee. The Brazil international had broken onto the Premier League scene with Watford and showcased some exciting qualities, qualities that impelled Everton to spend around £40m.
Marco Silva, while he led the Hornets, had hailed Richarlison as a “great talent” with incredible scope for improvement, and it wouldn’t be unfounded to claim that he reached that apotheosis with Everton, albeit having plateaued in the seasons since with Tottenham Hotspur.
Indeed, in July 2022, Spurs presented a £60m offer to Everton for their Brazilian sensation, who had received further praise from Silva during the Portuguese’s stint at the Goodison Park helm, calling him a “fantastic football player.”
24/25
Tottenham
5 (0)
0
1
23/24
Tottenham
28 (18)
11
4
22/23
Tottenham
27 (12)
1
4
21/22
Everton
30 (28)
10
5
20/21
Everton
34 (33)
7
3
19/20
Everton
36 (36)
13
3
18/19
Everton
35 (32)
13
1
17/18
Watford
38 (32)
5
4
One brief purple patch with the Lilywhites notwithstanding, Richarlison has been plagued by injuries and inconsistencies with Tottenham and has scarcely featured under Ange Postecoglou this season.
Indeed, after scoring just 12 Premier League goals since the start of the 2022/23 campaign, Richarlison has now also rather embarrassingly been outscored by Dominic Calvert-Lewin in 2024/25, whose issues in front of goal in recent years have been well-documented.
Everton’s form has picked up in recent weeks but Calvert-Lewin’s has not. The 27-year-old striker has gone 11 Premier League matches without a goal contribution, and has scored just 12 total goals since Richarlison left Everton’s pitch.
He has managed two top-flight goals this season, however, whereas the injury-stricken Richarlison is yet to break his duck. Whichever angle you view it from, it’s difficult to argue that the South American has reached even the wide margins of that £60m ballpark that prompted Spurs to sign him.
For £60m, this was a hefty figure collected at the perfect time for Everton, whose monetary troubles in the years since suggest that it might even have been an indispensable transfer deal that has kept the club away from the depths of the financial abyss.
Dyche has found Everton's very own Alexander-Arnold in surprise star
Everton could well have their own Trent Alexander-Arnold now in this creative star.
1 ByKelan SarsonDec 15, 2024