Everton

Giulia Bould
BBC Radio Merseyside reporter

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Signing a right-back is a priority for Everton but right now there is nothing imminent.

The club sent reps to watch Celtic on the weekend to see Alastair Johnston in action, and he is a target.

Tottenham's Djed Spence was someone the Blues were keen on before the World Cup but his performances for England have likely priced them out of a move. While West Ham's Aaron Wan-Bissaka has been someone David Moyes would like to bring to the Toffees for a while.

But Everton are currently being hit, like many other clubs, by a global shortage of right-backs.

Supporters will be frustrated, though, if Jake O'Brien starts the season there. Nathan Patterson remains with the club as the only right-back but it's been clear the manager doesn't see him as a starting player.

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Everton have signed a player proven to be a "general on the field" in Christian Norgaard, says BBC London Sport's Andy Rowley.

The Toffees signed the 32-year-old midfielder from Arsenal last week in a deal worth a reported £7m.

Speaking to BBC Radio Merseyside, he explained: "I prefer to think of what he's like at Brentford, rather than his season at Arsenal because I think it was only one league start," Rowley said.

"He didn't really play a big part last season. It's kind of understandable if you think about how they had Declan Rice, Martin Zubimendi, Eberechi Eze, Martin Odegaard.

"And if you think about Bruno Guimaraes coming in too, there wasn't going to be room for him in the upcoming season as well.

"For Brentford he was such a character. Probably the most influential person in that dressing room in those seasons when they came up to the Premier League. He was a key player at both ends of the pitch, he'd pop up with goals and set pieces.

"He was such a linchpin, kind of Thomas Frank's general on the field. I think David Moyes will really enjoy having a player like that."

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Everton and Crystal Palace have agreed a swap deal that will involve Toffees winger Dwight McNeil joining the Eagles and Wales international Brennan Johnson moving in the opposite direction.

Both attackers are expected to undergo medicals on Monday ahead of completing their respective moves.

It is understood the wingers will sign initial four-year contracts with their new clubs.

McNeil nearly moved to Selhurst Park at the start of February when Palace agreed a loan-to-buy deal, which would have turned into a £20m permanent move this summer.

However, the transfer fell through as the required paperwork could not be completed in time, even though McNeil had already passed a medical.

But the deal has been revived, with Johnson, who moved to Palace in a £35m deal in January, now involved in the exchange.

What do you make of the swap deal? Is McNeil a good exchange for Johnson?

Get in touch with your views here

Hector Fort has been told he can leave Barcelona this summer, with Everton and Fulham among the clubs interested in the Spanish right-back, 20. (TeamTalk), external

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Everton were beaten 3-1 by Bundesliga side Stuttgart in a pre-season friendly in Germany on Saturday.

David Moyes' side made a fast start and saw Beto go close twice, only for the hosts to take a 16th-minute lead through Nikolas Nartey.

Moments after Everton made four substitutions, Stuttgart doubled their advantage on 65 minutes when Ramon Hendriks headed home from a corner.

The Toffees hit back as Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall threaded a ball into fellow substitute Thierno Barry who was brought down in the box before dusting himself down to score the resulting penalty.

As Everton pushed for a leveller, Stuttgart bagged a third in eight minutes of added time through Badredine Bouanani.

Everton and Ipswich are among the clubs hoping to attract 27-year-old Senegal international Krepin Diatta, a right-sided player who can fill several positions and a free agent after his contract at Monaco expired in June. (Footmercato - in French), external

Sunderland are in pole position to sign Mozambique winger Geny Catamo from Sporting Lisbon, with Aston Villa, Brentford and Everton among the clubs with an eye on the 25-year-old. (Teamtalk), external

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We asked for your views on Everton signing 32-year-old midfielder Christian Norgaard from Arsenal, plus we wanted you to predict how manager David Moyes might use his new recruit this season.

Here are some of your comments:

Anton: Honestly, I'm very happy with the signing. He seems to be a leader and he seems happy to do the dirty side of the game, just like Idrissa Gueye did. He is also a good couple of years younger than Gueye. But, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, he isn't a right-back! How can we be this far into the transfer window and still not have filled what has been a problem position for about two years now?

Pete: Typical Moyes. He only wants the tried and tested. He hasn't got the vision or courage to gamble on youth in any real and committed sense.

Allan: Norgaard is a waste of money. We need to stop thinking about the here and now and start thinking of the future and building a team that can compete with the bigger clubs. Moyes needs to go. Howe should be brought in, given the funds to rebuild and the chance turn us into a team to be feared!

Ross: An absolutely top signing, what more could we want? Tall, athletic, strong in the tackle and in the air.

Jeff: By signing Norgaard, Everton have added a defensive midfielder to the squad yet again. If we have learned anything in the last 10-15 seasons, it is that we don't need yet another defensive midfielder. We need a creative midfielder! Plus a 15-20 goals per season striker, a right-back and a new manager. Will the club never learn?

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has written "a message of love and admiration" to Christian Norgaard, while also giving Everton fans a preview of what to expect from their new £7m signing.

The 32-year-old midfielder might have only made seven appearances during Arsenal's title-winning campaign in 2025-26, but Arteta highlighted his work "behind the scenes".

"I am very thankful for what he brought to the club and how he helped us to win," Arteta wrote in his parting message, external. "It is a message of admiration and love [from me].

"I don't think people have seen what he has done behind the scenes. He is a player that has a unique quality to make others better and maintain a culture to the highest standards.

"Then you add in his contribution on the pitch when he has played and had his minutes.

"It was difficult to let him go, but I understand it is a stage in his career where he needs to play and fulfil all of his dreams as well.

"But we are forever thankful to him."

Are you happy with this signing? How do you think David Moyes will utilise Norgaard next season?

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Everton fan Les Roberts from The Blue Room says it is "frustrating" that Jake O'Brien is continuing to play as right-back when the new season is on the horizon.

O'Brien was signed as a central defender from Olympique Lyon in 2024, but was switched to cover the full-back role when David Moyes returned for his second stint at the club.

Everton are reportedly interested in Celtic's Alistair Johnston, but in the meantime, O'Brien is continuing to hold that position.

"Pre-season is for the players not the fans," said Les to BBC Radio Merseyside. "But the thing that's annoyed me is that we started the last game with the same back four as last season; James Tarkowski, Jarrad Branthwaite, Vitalii Mykolenko and Jake O'Brien.

"I don't want to see that. If we start with O'Brien at right-back next season then I will walk in and walk straight back out again because we want to see something different.

"We definitely need a change. For the first six months after David Moyes returned it was brilliant to move O'Brien there because he played well, but not for another season.

"He effectively lost last season in terms of progression, so if he was to play there again this season it wouldn't surprise me if he asked for a move.

"He should be the centre-back partnership with Branthwaite. It's frustrating and not good for his development as a young player."

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Everton's newest signing Christian Norgaard says he feels "so happy and pleased" to pen a two-year deal, after already having "positive conversations" with his former boss Mikel Arteta about his new manager David Moyes.

The 32-year-old midfielder, who signed for Arsenal last year in a £15m deal from Brentford, arrives at Hill Dickinson Stadium with 129 Premier League appearances and 41 Denmark caps under his belt.

"It feels amazing," Norgaard told evertontv, external. "There were many factors to this move. I felt I needed a change and to play a bigger footballing role.

"When I spoke to David Moyes and others at the club, I was told about the whole project and I was very intrigued. Coming here just makes that feeling even stronger, this is a big honour for me.

"Leadership is something I will bring without really thinking about it, and hopefully that will fit really well with the culture and the players here.

"The club is moving in the right direction and last year was proof of that. They were in the mix for the European spots and I think that probably leads into this season. There is a lot of optimism around the place and I can't wait to join in on that."

On the advice former Everton midfielder Mikel Arteta gave him before his move, Norgaard said: "I spoke to him quite a lot about it and he only had positive things to say about the club.

"He played under David Moyes for a long time and it seemed to me as if he had a fantastic time here, while also really excelling as a player. Hopefully I can get the same feeling."

Katharine Sharpe and Simon Casson
BBC Sport senior journalists

The 2025-26 Premier League and Championship seasons included the introduction of squad-cost ratio rules on a shadow basis, testing to see how a spending cap for squad costs set at a percentage of a club's total revenues might work.

These SCR regulations have now been permanently implemented for the 2026-27 season, replacing previous profit and sustainability rules (PSR).

Uefa has a 70% SCR cap for European competitions, so Premier League clubs who qualified for Europe fall in line with this limit.

Clubs who did not qualify for Europe, and so are only taking part in domestic competitions, are capped at 85% of their total revenue.

However, clubs can spend above the 85% limit by using a multi-year rolling allowance of 30%. This allows them to invest ahead of revenue and variance or sporting underperformance.

Every club will start this coming season on 85% + 30% allowance, so effectively 115%.

If a club spends 105% on their squad in 2026-27, it means they have used 20% of their allowance, and for 2027-28 their maximum spend before potential sporting sanction is 95%.

If a club spend less than 85%, they can increase the allowance again to the maximum of 30%.

Spending above 85% but under the allowance results in a financial penalty, whereas going over both the 85% and the allowance will land the club a fixed six-point deduction which increases by one point for every £6.5m spent over the 115%.

'Anchoring' was also trialled in 2025-26, which meant any club's spending could not exceed a multiple of income earned by the bottom-placed club - however this was rejected at a vote of Premier League clubs.

SCR was approved by a vote of 14 clubs to six, and was introduced alongside sustainability and systemic resilience (SSR) regulations.

SSR involves three tests that are applied throughout the season:

Working capital test - assesses short-term cash resources

Liquidity test - assesses medium-term liquidity and resilience

Positive equity test -assesses long-term financial health

The aim of the SCR and SSR regulations is to stop the richest owners providing endless funds to their clubs to sign new players, as any money injected this way does not count as seasonal revenue.

They will also aim to prevent clubs from overspending and accruing unmanageable losses.

Read more about the rules here

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"I do see a world where Iliman Ndiaye is still an Everton player," says Toffees fan Ryan Rooney as Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal continue to show interest in a big-money move for the right winger.

The Senegal international joined Everton's training camp in Germany on Monday after returning from World Cup duty, with speculation around his club future continuing to swirl.

"I was convinced he was gone," Rooney told BBC Radio Merseyside. "I selfishly wanted him to go to Saudi Arabia or somewhere else abroad just so we didn't have to face him twice a season, especially as we know how good he can be.

"But I've seen Idrissa Gueye's comment under one of Everton's posts saying: 'Here to stay' and that alone shows how this club has a way of dragging you right back in.

"I do think he could stay now - just from that comment alone. I don't think the likes of Idrissa Gueye would comment something like that if it wasn't true.

"I'm still not 100% convinced but he did look happy to see the likes of Beto and Jake O'Brien again, so fingers crossed he wants to stay at the club.

"We describe this club as a sleeping giant, but what we need to do to bridge the gap now is definitely keep hold of our better players. If I was David Moyes, I would be saying to him: 'Just give us an extra year, get us into Europe and then have your pick of the clubs.'

"If he has another good season at Everton, every top club is going to be in for him."

Listen to the full conversation above or listen on BBC Sounds

Michael Emons
BBC Sport journalist

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Central midfielder Harrison Armstrong has been with Everton since the age of five and established himself as a key member of the first team in the second half of last season.

He made his Toffees Premier League debut early in the 2024-25 campaign and has now played 16 times in the top flight as well as having half-season loans in the Championship, firstly with Derby County and then Preston North End.

His performances led to him being named Everton's young player of the season and he has regularly featured for England Under-19s. The 19-year-old can play either as a defensive midfielder or in a more advanced role.

"He's not looked out of place in the Premier League. That's the biggest compliment I could give Harrison," said Everton boss David Moyes in January.

Read more on youngsters to watch at each Premier League club this season

Alex Howell
Arsenal reporter

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Christian Norgaard has been left out of Arsenal's squad for the friendly against Real Betis in Dublin as he nears a move to Everton.

Reports suggest that Norgaard is set to move to the Toffees for a fee of around £7m.

The 32-year-old was with the Arsenal squad for their 4-1 win over Girona last week but did not play any part in the match and is now set for a medical with Everton.

Norgaard signed for the Gunners last summer for an initial £10m with the possibility of £5m in add ons.

However he found game time hard to come by and made just seven appearances in the league as Arsenal won the title. His only start of the league campaign came on the final day of last season.

Norgaard's character and experience around the training ground has been repeatedly been praised by Mikel Arteta.

And with the midfielder now into the last year of his contract, the club have decided to sell him.

Arsenal are also moving closer to agreeing a deal for Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimaraes.

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The Liverpool Echo's Joe Thomas says having a player like Jack Grealish in the Everton ranks would prove "invaluable" and bringing him back to the club should be a "no-brainer" if possible.

Grealish spent last season on loan at the Toffees from Manchester City, impressing in the first half of the campaign before a foot injury suffered in January ruled him out for the rest of the campaign.

The 30-year-old was spotted among the players who had reported for pre-season duty for City last week but he missed out on a seat on the plane for the club's tour of Hong Kong and Seoul through injury.

He has entered the final 12 months of his contract with little sign of being offered new terms on his reported £300,000-a-week wages and his future is still undecided.

"With Grealish, I think his leadership comes in a slightly different way than that of a James Tarkowski or a Seamus Coleman," Thomas told BBC Radio Merseyside's Giulia Bould.

"You see a lot of his leadership comes from his football intelligence and IQ on the pitch.

"When you look at the way Everton's season petered out, I lose count of the times I thought how useful it would be to have someone like Jack Grealish in some of those games.

"When those games were getting away from Everton and they were conceding late goals, particularly against Liverpool and Manchester City, the value of having someone there with a little bit of nous, who can win free-kicks, get up the pitch, break the opposition momentum and act like the galvanising factor for his teammates as well was shown to be invaluable.

"If Everton could get that back and there is an opportunity to get that back this season, it would be an absolute no-brainer."

Listen to the full chat below or on BBC Sounds here

Everton's English midfielder Tim Iroegbunam, 23, is interesting Hull City, Ipswich Town and Coventry City. (Teamtalk), external

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Should a club build a new stadium or upgrade its current home in a bid to maintain some history? How significant is a new ground in terms of revenue generated? Will it move the needle?

BBC Sport has worked with football finance expert Kieran Maguire to consider the impact a new home has.

Take a look at your club's matchday revenue figures from 2024-25 below and get the full article here.

Matthew Hobbs
BBC Sport journalist

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Losing elite quality without sensible reinvestment is not something Everton can afford with one of the Premier League's smaller squads.

David Moyes used just 22 players in the top flight in 2025-26 - the lowest of any side - while 128 substitutions were at least six fewer than any other manager.

Everton continue to focus a significant slice of their recruitment on development players.

Central midfielder Hayden Hackney, 24, joined from Middlesbrough for £16.5m in July along with 20-year-old winger Tyrique George, who was signed from Chelsea for £18m having spent the second half of last season on loan at Everton.

The more experienced Celtic defender Alistair Johnston is the latest player linked with solving the problem position at right-back, while 32-year-old Arsenal midfielder Christian Norgaard is reportedly an imminent arrival.

The average age of signings in Moyes' second spell is under 24, including three players aged 20 or younger.

But players aged 21 or under featured for 1,088 minutes for the club last season, ranking Everton only 17th in the Premier League.

The departures of Seamus Coleman and Idrissa Gueye deprive Everton of more than 600 Premier League appearances - explaining the interest in Norgaard - while key midfielder James Garner is set to miss the start of the season following groin surgery.

As things stand, it leaves Moyes in the paradoxical position of being potentially reliant on younger players he appears more reluctant to trust.

"They need to show they're capable and deserve to play," added Osman.

"I'm hoping that a year in, understanding the demands that are required, players like Dibling and George will make that progression and then suddenly our squad looks more trustworthy."

• Read more on Moyes and transfers here

Matthew Hobbs
BBC Sport journalist

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For much of last season, Everton were looking up.

Loan signing Jack Grealish proved to be an instant hit. Fellow new arrival Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was a reliable matchwinner. Strikers Thierno Barry and Beto had shrugged off early-season struggles to start scoring goals.

A 3-0 triumph against Chelsea on 21 March put Everton eighth in the Premier League, just three points off the Champions League places with seven games left.

Supporters were dreaming big. Instead, the team imploded.

Everton failed to win any of their remaining matches - the longest run without a victory since David Moyes returned for a second spell in charge of the Toffees in 2025.

A 2-2 draw at Brentford on 11 April sparked a decline in form over the remainder of the campaign that ranked Everton in the bottom three during that period.

They were one of only three teams to fail to win a match during this spell, along with relegated Burnley and Wolves.

Despite the drop off, Everton retained hopes of European football when they faced Sunderland in their final home match of 2025-26.

In his program notes, Everton CEO Angus Kinnear declared that he was "happily dissatisfied" with the campaign - an odd turn of phrase at a confusing moment that quickly soured after a 3-1 defeat.

Promoted Sunderland would go on to finish seventh and secure European football for the first time in 53 years.

The irony for Moyes is that Everton have finished 13th in both seasons since his return, but to very different receptions.

Read the full article here

Atletico Madrid are considering a move for Manchester City winger Jack Grealish, with Everton and Aston Villa also exploring a bid for the Englishman. (Sun), external

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