David Moyes Faces Everton's Struggles Ahead of Manchester United Clash
David Moyes cut a frustrated figure as he surveyed what was left of his Everton squad – and the timing could hardly be worse.
On the eve of Manchester United’s visit on Sunday, the Everton manager is staring at a season with just 18 senior outfield players and only one recognised striker, after a chaotic deadline day that stripped him of options and left key plans in ruins.
Balogun deal collapses, Ndiaye departs
The late pursuit of Monaco striker Folarin Balogun was supposed to be the answer up front. Instead, it became the symbol of a window that slipped away.
Everton thought they had their man, with a reported £40 million move lined up to bring the USA international back to the Premier League. Then came an issue in his medical. The club attempted to renegotiate the terms. Both Everton and Monaco were still ready to push the transfer through, but Balogun walked away from the deal himself.
Monaco managing director Thiago Scuro later said Balogun pulled out over his treatment by Everton during the process, a claim that only underlined how messy the saga had become.
“There were lots of different bits to it. It wasn't anybody's fault,” Moyes said. “Ultimately it happens in football a lot. The player had a problem in his medical and that was simply it.”
While that move collapsed, another key attacking option went out of the door. Iliman Ndiaye was sold to Manchester City, leaving Moyes even lighter in forward areas and with little time to react.
The manager did not hide his irritation.
“Disappointed we didn't do more business, disappointed things didn't go our way in the end,” he admitted. “But sometimes in football you have to live with disappointments and we will and we'll move on.”
Thin squad, big demands
The numbers are stark. Eighteen senior outfield players. One out-and-out striker. A long, unforgiving Premier League season ahead.
For a club that flirted with Europe last year, only to fade and finish 13th after a late dip in form, the drop-off in depth is jarring. Moyes has been clear since he walked back through the door at Goodison Park: he does not see himself – or Everton – as a team built to scrap at the bottom.
“I'm getting too old now to be sitting around at the bottom end,” he said, laying down the challenge to his dressing room. “I've said that to the players here when I came in. The job is that we challenge as close to the top end of the league as we can.”
Last season’s push, however brief, gave him evidence that the squad can punch above its weight.
“I've got to say, they've done a brilliant job of it last year, and I don't think we were expected to do so well as what we've done,” he said. “I've got to hope that we can do that again. There might not be a great expectation on us at this moment in time, but behind the scenes I'm rallying them.”
Between frustration and defiance
This is the balance Moyes must now strike: a manager openly unhappy with the club’s transfer business, yet determined not to let that frustration seep into the performances of a group he still believes can overachieve.
The failed move for Balogun and the sale of Ndiaye have left Everton exposed, especially if injuries bite. But Moyes has never been one to dwell on what he cannot change. The disappointment is real. So is the defiance.
The visit of Manchester United will offer an immediate measure of how much resilience remains in this lean Everton squad – and whether Moyes’ rallying cry can turn a thin group into something far more stubborn than it looks on paper.
