Röhl Call: Everton’s 2025 Transfer Window Positives and Negatives
David Moyes reshaped the squad in a single summer, but did Everton do enough to steady the ship?
EVERTON HAD A WHIRLWIND weekend. They beat Wolves Saturday, 3-2, in a match that was an absolute joy to watch. Until the end.
Look. We are Everton, okay?
That means a lot of things. It means an incredible and passionate fanbase. It means a club with a long history that’s virtually unmatched by any club in the world, not just England. It meant Goodison Park, an intimidating (and perhaps unsafe?) ground that shook when Evertonians erupted in cheers. Now, Everton means a modern, gleaming stadium that was literally1 designed to be loud.2
Everton rarely makes anything easy. It’s our trademark. Everton leading 4-0 with 20 minutes remaining in a match? We Toffees are still fully clenched.3 It’s in our nature to be concerned about good things and good times.
But it genuinely appears to be a beautiful new dawn for the club. I’m going to do my best to enjoy it without waiting for the other shoe to fall and hit me in the groin.
Everton’s 2025 Summer Window: Positives and Negatives
I’VE COVERED THE SUMMER WINDOW A LOT during the short history of this publication. In my defense, it’s the biggest story in world football at the moment.
But I want to touch on a few more things before tying a bow on this window and focusing on what’s happening now and what’s coming down the road.
➕ Positives
This was a sea change summer for Everton. With so many contracts expiring, the club’s new recruitment department—which includes David Moyes, who has an outsized say in final player decisions—essentially had to remake the squad from the ground up. Moyes let some go: DCL and Abdoulaye Doucouré4 being the most notable.
We were told it would take more than a single window to remake the squad to Moyes’ satisfaction. It will. However, Everton crossed several items off their summer task list, notably creating a dangerous, fluid attacking front that is quite enjoyable to watch.
Everton spent a potential of £150m this summer, if all clauses are triggered.5
It was kept secret at the time, but Inter (the Milan one, not the Miami one with Leo Messi and the squad full of a-holes) made a £40m bid for Iliman Ndiaye. I don’t know if the Everton front office had a hearty laugh before politely telling Milan no; if not, they should have.
The deadline day signing of Merlin Röhl seemingly came out of nowhere. His name hadn’t been recently linked to the club or mentioned as a possible incoming player. But a club source told me on Monday that the club’s scouting and development team had briefly looked at Röhl earlier in the window. His name re-emerged as a possible alternative to Tomas Soucek after West Ham turned back Everton’s inquiries. Röhl doesn’t play quite as deep as Soucek—he’s more of a #8 than a defensive mid—so it’ll be interesting to see how Moyes utilizes him during the loan period. 6
We’ve already discussed the impact of Jack Grealish on the team, but any list of window positives has to include Super Jack.
With Grealish, Dewsbury-Hall, and Ndiaye, Everton’s attack is unlike anything we’ve seen from an Everton squad in a long time. And it’s not just the attack; it’s the buildup and the passing and everything else leading up to the attack that impresses.
Harrison Armstrong’s loan move to Preston North End7 is a positive and a negative. Armstrong is clearly a future superstar for Everton, and he already warrants a place in the Toffees’ match-day squad. But Armstrong needs to be starting at least 30 matches this season and average 75 minutes per game, at minimum, to continue his development. He’s not just one for the future, as pundits like to call great prospects. Armstrong is the one for the future.
And finally, Grealish’s calves. I mean, have you seen these things? When even are they?
The best addition of the summer window?
➖ Negatives
We all hoped Everton would land a right-back before the deadline; at least one David Moyes trusts enough to start and give a proper run of minutes. Jake O’Brien has filled in admirably since being asked to cover the role, but he’s a center-back by trade.
The longer he plays out of position, the more his limitations become apparent. So it felt like right-back was a position Everton desperately needed to fill. But the club feels differently, at least regarding urgency.
No right-back signings were made, which leaves O’Brien, the aging Seamus Coleman, and Nathan Patterson8 to handle duties there. James Garner, who seemingly can play anywhere on the pitch (and often has), played the position regularly in his youth days.
Regardless, O’Brien needs to be back at his natural position, preparing himself to help Branthwaite anchor our back line for a decade. Patterson showed a ton of promise when he arrived at the club, but has yet to show any indication he’s anywhere close to reaching that potential. It’s likely he’ll get his chance to earn the spot; Patterson has to capitalize on the opportunity.The departure of Youssef Chermiti is a disappointment, to be sure. We lost money on him. But the worst part is that we never really got to see him reach the potential we all saw in him when he first arrived. Chermiti now reunites with Kevin Thelwell, the former Everton director of football operations who now serves as Rangers’ sporting director.
Next Up: Aston Villa
Everton welcome Aston Villa on September 13 after the international break.
Villa signed seven players during the window. The biggest (in name value, at least) by far was Jadon Sancho, who moved on deadline day from hapless Manchester United.
Sancho arrived at Old Trafford from Borussia Dortmund in 2021 for £73m. He immediately developed a contentious relationship with then-manager Erik Ten Hag until Ten Hag sent Sancho to United’s Isle of Expensive Misfit Toys.
At Villa, though, Sancho offers something they’ve badly lacked: a wide player who can carry the ball through pressure, commit defenders, and still pick out the right final ball. Unai Emery’s system thrives on players who can flip the field in an instant, and Sancho’s ability to create one-on-one chaos could be the difference between Villa grinding out results and actually blowing teams away.
Harvey Elliott (loan from Liverpool, with a ~£35 m obligation to buy) brings an elusive creative spark to the spine of the team. He’s capable of defense-splitting passes and movement off the ball that pair well with Watkins and Tielemans.
Villa also signed Victor Lindelof—another potential target the Toffees had under consideration—on a free. Lindelof adds genuine Premier League experience to a backline that’s occasionally looked shaky. Former teammates say Lindelof’s calming presence under pressure was crucial to their match-day mindset.
Evann Guessand arrived from Nice for about £26m. I haven’t had much time to look into him deeply, but he’s a true center forward with a big presence; he should complement starter Ollie Watkins nicely.
➡️ We’ll get into a deeper look at how Villa might set up and play against Everton in our match preview next week.
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Footnotes
To simply say “they succeeded” is a wild understatement. The Dick (my totally appropriate nickname for Hill-Dickinson Stadium) is unbelievably loud. Crowd roar is often difficult to judge on a television broadcast. Not at The Dick. Go back and watch the replay of Saturday’s match, right as the TV shows the players standing in the hallway for the first time. Listen to the crowd roar. It’s a wall of sound, and that’s on a television broadcast!
Butts. We’re talking clenched butts here.
I think Calvert-Lewin’s market was smaller than he likely anticipated. In search of the massive free agent contract he likely would have received a couple of years ago—before injuries derailed his career—he ultimately signed for newly-promoted Leeds United, where he has struggled thus far. Doucs, meanwhile, signed for Neom SC, who are playing in the top-flight Saudi Pro League for the first time in their history.
Not all clauses will be triggered, obviously. They rarely are.
The loan will become permanent as long as Everton aren’t relegated this year. Unlike years past, that doesn’t seem to be a concern this year, so I’m considering Röhl a permanent addition.
A bit of useless trivia: David Beckham’s first club was Manchester United, but the place he started actually becoming Sir Goldenballs? Preston North End.
I was genuinely shocked to see Patterson remain at the club after the window closed. A loan felt guaranteed, and the thought of a permanent move wasn’t outlandish. Ultimately, he will get to fight for the position.