Where do Everton even begin? The club have emerged from the summer transfer window under a cloud of frustration, with a growing sense of malaise threatening to undo much of the progress David Moyes and his players worked so hard to make last season.
Everton have long carried a reputation for being reluctant spenders whenever the transfer market opens. Among the 12 clubs to have spent the past decade in the Premier League, only Crystal Palace have spent less than the Toffees.
That simply isn’t good enough, and something has to change. Everton look weaker now than they did when Moyes’ side stumbled over the finish line last season, eventually placing 13th after briefly dreaming of Champions League qualification just two months earlier.
With only 18 senior outfield players available to Moyes until at least January, the squad is alarmingly thin. And their failure to get a deal for Folarin Balogun over the line on deadline day could prove to be their most expensive mistake.
Why missing out on Balogun could cost Everton dearly
A penny for Moyes’ thoughts. And perhaps another for the wider Everton fanbase, who may now be facing another season of frustration following the shortcomings of The Friedkin Group and sporting director Angus Kinnear.
What a mess.
Balogun scored 19 goals for Monaco last season, including an impressive streak of ten goals in ten games between February and the end of that run. He had been identified as the ideal striker to lead Everton’s attack, with the club even agreeing a £39m deal.
The American forward travelled to Merseyside and arrived at Finch Farm for his medical, where Everton discovered a fitness issue that put the proposed transfer at risk. Rather than completing the deal, the Blues attempted to renegotiate the terms with Monaco while also making an unsuccessful loan approach for Manchester United’s Joshua Zirkzee.
That move unsettled Balogun, who ultimately decided to walk away from the transfer.
That is the heart of Everton’s deadline-day disaster. Balogun reportedly became frustrated by the club’s attempts to pursue another striker while his own move was still unresolved, eventually pulling out and leaving Everton without the opportunity to replace Beto with a proven, high-quality goalscorer.
Thierno Barry was inconsistent last season, showing flashes of quality without ever fully establishing himself. He has begun the 2025/26 campaign in impressive fashion, however, registering four goals and one assist in his opening three matches.
Yet his performance in last weekend’s 1-1 draw against Bournemouth highlighted some of the concerns surrounding him. Barry missed two big chances and completed just five passes during his 70 minutes on the pitch.
He was replaced by the physically imposing Beto, who is no longer at the club, and Moyes must surely be furious with how the final days of the transfer window unfolded.
Everton also failed to replace Iliman Ndiaye after selling the Senegal international for £65m, a fee that could arguably prove below his true market value. Losing him was difficult enough, but allowing Beto to leave and then failing to bring in a single replacement striker was an unforgivable error.
Moyes is now left with little option but to work with what he has. The question is just how inventive and resourceful the experienced Scotsman can be.
We are about to find out, and one prolific academy forward could yet emerge as an unexpected solution over the course of the campaign.
Everton may already have their own answer to Balogun
This is shaping up to be a defining season for Barry, who now finds himself carrying the responsibility of leading Everton’s attack. His performances could determine whether the club progresses or struggles.
Last season, he managed only eight Premier League goals, with his scoring often coming in brief bursts rather than consistently.
With no recognised backup at No. 9, that record must improve. However, Moyes may have an unexpected alternative waiting in the academy in the form of teenage forward Braiden Graham, who scored 21 goals for Everton’s development side last season.
Graham, now 18, is a Northern Ireland youth international who first caught attention while playing for Linfield in his homeland. He joined Everton as a scholar in 2024 and quickly impressed, earning a professional contract within months and becoming an important figure for the club’s development squad.
A genuine tactical chameleon capable of operating in different attacking roles, Graham has proven particularly dangerous in front of goal. He scored 21 times last season, including 12 goals in just 18 Premier League 2 appearances.
Everton U21 manager Paul Tait has described him as “a good finisher”, and there is every chance that quality could eventually translate to senior football.
Graham has already made an impact this season, featuring in the EFL Trophy. Everton’s young side may have suffered a heavy 6-3 defeat to Stockport County, but the teenager still managed to leave his mark with two goals and an assist.
He was also named on the bench last season when Everton defeated Nottingham Forest 2-0 away from home, although Moyes ultimately chose not to hand him his senior debut.
Of course, it is easy to suggest that a promising young striker with Graham’s instincts and finishing ability can succeed at the highest level. But leaving the comfort of youth football and stepping into the unforgiving environment of the Premier League is an entirely different challenge.
Much will come down to whether Graham can cope with the physical demands of senior English football. If he can overcome that hurdle, however, the young forward could emerge as an unlikely game-changer for an Everton side desperately searching for their next hero.