Looking Ahead at the Everton Squad in 2025-26

We seem to be OK in keepers with Pickford, Begovic who I think might welcome another year and several promising young keepers who seem to be getting good reports from their loan clubs and that's if Virginia doesn't sign a new contract.

In defence we have Patterson and Dixon at right back. Tarkowski, O'Brien and Branthwaite in central defence and perhaps Branthwaite might be persuaded to sign an extended contract if it contained a release fee which could trigger a transfer, that is, put that power in the player's hands. Then we might need cover for Mykolenko as the only left back.

Midfield, I'd keep Mangala with McNeil, Ndiaaye, Iroegbunam while hoping Armstrong steps up. This along with wingers is the main shortage areas, and would Harrison be available for another loan if Leeds are promoted.

If Calvert-Lewin moves on we have Beto, Chermiti and I rather think Broja might stay as there doesn't seem many takers for him on a permanent basis and perhaps Chermiti and Beto might show improvement if we continue the better football we have at times seen this season and less lone striker chasing long balls out of defence.

It is a bit difficult as I'm not up on which juniors are progressing but from reports it seems there are not that many which might mean bringing in cheaper covering players or offering those considered worthwhile a year contract extension with maybe a second year option possibly at a lower wage which would probably be all they'd get at another club and especially as some are over the 30 years age mark.

And then, if the new owners pay off the debt we might have enough to meet PSR needs and allow a small transfer kitty but if we change Managers we all know how the new bloke, if there is one, usually wants to bring players with him.

I know it seems early in the season to be thinking about it, but I was aware of this. Of the out-of-contract players I only want to keep Calvert-Lewin, the rest are too old or not good enough.

This means something like 10-15 signings needed for us to have a squad that can make substitutions and cover injuries. I hope someone is planning hard right now.

Pickford, Patterson, Tarkowski, O'Brien, Mykolenko, Iroegbunam, Garner, McNeil, Ndiaye, Beto, Chermiti.

Plus any decent youngsters, players whose contracts get extended, new signings,loans. Oh, and Branthwaite, possibly, but probably not.

Player development

I think Plan A has always been to develop some decent but not spectacular young and inexperienced players to help us bolster the squad. These are Iroegbunam, O'Brien, Dixon, Armstrong and Chermiti. If we had a decent squad and some money, these players would all be on loan.

Alongside this, Lindstrom and Broja will be developed as much more "first-team ready" players.

January window

Hopefully, we sign a right-back – possibly Tchatchoua who seemed to be our top target. But possibly the likes of Sildillia, Dedic and Rensch.

We might also get a longer-term prospect for left-back like, say Kian Best of Preston.

Summer 2025

As you say, at this stage, we start to haemorrhage players due to ending contracts. I think Calvert-Lewin may well stay but Branthwaite will definitely go. I do think Beto will probably go though, I think Broja and Chermiti will overtake him this season.

Although we managed to keep Branthwaite this summer, we will need the money to reinvest in the sqaud. The Friedkin takeover doesn't change that.

So, in terms of a first XI, that leaves something like this:

Pickford
[Tchatchoua or other new right-back]
Mykolenko
Tarkowski
[new centre-back]
Mangala – for about £25M
[new centre-midfielder]
McNeil
Lindstrom – for about £15M
Ndiaye
Calvert-Lewin

And the second XI will be something like this:

Begovic / Other
Patterson / Dixon
[New young left-back]
O'Brien
[Cheap centre-back cover]
Garner
Iroegbunam
Armstrong
Harrison - free
Broja - for about £20M
Chermiti

If we got a combined £85M for Branthwaite and Beto, that would leave £20m to cover centre-back, centre-midfielder in the first XI and a bit of padding in the second XI. It's cutting it very fine to be able to field a decent side.

For the first time in 4 or 5 years, the owners will probably need to dip their hands in their pocket (about £40M?), as well as sell Branthwaite, just to keep us going.

But, if they manage something along these lines, then the squad overall probably improves a touch – maybe getting us to around 14th in the Premier League. Not exactly sexy, but progress.

I am sure Thelwell will be active in the winter transfer window – maybe add a winger and a left-back. Then, it won't be such a dramatic upheaval next summer.

The departure of Keane, Doucoure, and Gueye will mark the end of the Moshiri profligate years: big wages and long contracts for players who are far from world-beaters.

There's too much uncertainty to comment sensibly on loan players at this stage, although with Gueye leaving it would be good to see Mangala staying permanently. Alongside Garner, Iroegbunam and Armstrong, that's good midfield resources for 2025-26.

We can easily find back-up keepers as has been said before.
I would like to see Dom stay but, if he feels he can do better than at Everton, good luck to him!

So I'm optimistic that we have a decent core of players for continuity with a few new faces to strengthen the squad. That's young, hard-working players with potential re-sale value and sensible contracts. There should be the funds available to buy them in 2025, especially if we (sadly) lose Branthwaite.

New season, new owners, new state-of-the-art stadium, and new coaches including Seamus of course. Now all we have to do is survive this season! UTFT

A good scouting team (which I believe we now have) will be able to find replacements for these squad fillers on considerably less money; which leaves us more wiggle room for the first team.

Sadly the gem, Branthwaite, will likely be sold. Very few teams in the bottom half are able to keep Champions League level players for more than a few seasons.

But again, this can be an opportunity, and the likes of Brighton have been able to build an excellent squad by selling Caciedo, Macallister, Cucurella, Bissouma etc. The key is strong recruitment.

The difficulty, for whoever the manager is, will be bringing in a bunch of new players and gelling them together quickly. And this is one of the reasons I hope that Calvert-Lewin can be persuaded to sign a new contract.

If he does so, then the likes of him, Ndiaye, McNeil and possibly Chermiti later in the season can form the nucleus of a solid attack. I also think it will be hard to find an upgrade on Calvert-Lewin for less than £30M.

The central midfield and full-backs spots are possibly the bigger concern. If Gueye is done (though I think his levels remain high) and Doucoure leaves, then that leaves only Garner (who is a decent enough player) and Iroegbunam (who has some edges in need of polishing).

Mangala has made a good start but, if it's true that the option fee was around £30M, then I doubt we'd pay this and nor should we as there are similar options who are younger and cheaper.

Difficult to know what sort of money the TFG might make available for transfers but I would not expect it to be enormous sums. The aim will be to move to the self-sustaining Brighton or Brentford model of recruiting young, affordable players with big potential and then selling on.

Of course this depends on excellent recruitment judgement and a manager to get the best out of those players so both Dyche and Thelwell will be under the microscope but the latter has shown an ability to locate good talent as our pursuits of Diaz, Gyökeres, Kudus, Minteh, Nunes, Gnonto etc have shown.

New stadium, new owner, new manager? Massive rebuild this summer. Exciting times!! And my gut says that TFG will not make the same mistakes that Moshiri did.

It's inevitable there will be a large exodus so the timing on the manager situation is key for me. If today's announcement that Dyche will get funds in January is true, then you'd think Dyche will get a new contract next season if we do okay, ie, finish around mid-table with no whiff of relegation troubles. He'll have deserved it.

I guess in the grand scheme of things we look to be in a much better position than even just 2-3 months ago, so onwards and upwards. Hopefully we continue to pick up points and climb up the table.

New players do offer excitement.

We can all start to feel more positive about the opportunity if money will be released in January to strengthen the squad and, perhaps, tie down Calvert-Lewin to a new deal.

I got the impression from the Friedkin thread that there will be money to spend in January. That's got to be good news if true.

This summer, we made a profit of £30M after our buying and selling. If we could spend another £20M to £30M in January and break-even, we'd be very well placed to stay clear of relegation season – and it would set us up well for 2024-25.

If the idea is to spend more like £5M this January and Calvert-Lewin decides to leave for free, then it becomes more of a challenge...

The club has to plan more for the future.

But if Calvert-Lewin does leave on a free (or a low-cost deal in January) then it strains a small transfer kitty further – because, even though he has his knockers, I don't think you could buy a first-team-ready striker as good as him (unless they're old or injury-prone) for less than about £40 to £50M.

Even then – as £50M to £85M strikers Cunha, Hojlund and Nunez have shown – it's still a struggle to even get into double figures at least at first.

Given how many players we will need to buy, we might have to rely on Beto (not better than Calvert-Lewin), Broja (worse injuries than Calvert-Lewin and fewer goals) and Chermiti (bit of an unknown quantity still). I actually think Broja could come good but it's not ideal.

More likely, we'd have to buy potential for up to around £20m and develop a player over the course of the next few seasons -– someone like El Junior Kroupi at Lorient who is still only 18.

My two wishes:

Dyche survives until the end of the season; if a reset is to happen, let it happen then as our managerial options might be better at that time.

If a change occurs now, well, you would have to think it would be Moyes coming back to ensure we make it to Bramley-Moore Dock as a Premier League club. That is his selling point at the moment.

Broja is purchased on the strength of a successful loan spell.

Denis, you have established a really strong, positive discussion. Thanks. One point, I think initiated by Mike Gaynes, is the possible banana skin of the manager having to gel a team from too many new players. Not a simple job, but…

After having a brilliant season with Carlo. Calvert-Lewin started the next season (under Rafa) like a house on fire. After scoring his third in three, he fractured a toe.

At most clubs, he would have been allowed to recover, but having seen what Everton were like without him, Rafa pressed the panic button and played him knowing full well he was injured.

Inevitably, more injuries followed – quad and hamstring. Frank did the same as Rafa and, despite these serious injuries, Calvert-Lewin still played 36 times in those two seasons.

One of the biggest single reasons we are still in the top flight is that he came off the treatment table to throw himself at a cross and head the most unlikely of winners — if he doesn't do that, we are playing Championship football.

Ask any football fan not connected to EFC who our best player has been for the past 5 years and Calvert-Lewin will most certainly be on their shortlist, as he would with many of our own fans.

But for some reason, there is a sizable section of our fan base who, for reasons I will never understand, have always been openly hostile towards him. Perhaps they are disappointed that we never got Haaland for our million quid.

The guy works his bollocks off for the team, but they will always find fault and when he bangs in his 15th of this season (which he will) they will bitch that it should have been 16. Despite seeing that any sort of attacking threat we carry goes when he isn't playing, they still want him out.

Whilst I don't and probably never will understand this intense dislike, I have learned that it is pretty much unshakable. Every effort he has on goal will be deemed a sitter, no matter how good. They don't like him. I can accept that.

However, what I will not accept is the argument put forward (Generally from people who have never offered him any support whatsoever), that the club has somehow supported him throughout his "sick note" days. It's bollocks. He's played injured or not.

Oh and for the record; The club is not letting him go. He's fucking off...

(I wasn't impressed with him against Palace though – something didn't look quite right?)

I think the start of this season has now shown everyone how important Jarrod Branthwaite has also become.

Well said, Dave, the amount of abuse he gets compared to other underachievers is a joke. If I was him, I would have walked after the Villa game last season. Being 'booed off' by your own 'fans'(?) after breaking your cheekbone, unbelievable!!

If people think Beto is the answer, then God help us.

I'm a big fan of Dominic and hope he stays but, like you say, it looks like he wants to move and good luck to him whether moves or stays as Robert says @11 we would be hard-pressed to buy a replacement as good as Dominic with the money we've got.

By the way, Dave, leave that Dominic scoring the winner v Palace that night, three players scored that night, the season is about 38 games, you can pick an incident from many of them and say that kept us in the league.

If mid-table, doing okkay, with possibly Broja, Chermiti or Beto stepping up a bit, should Dom still want away, then the Club may well feel getting a few bob for him the way to go.

If however, we are still down where we are at present, Dom has to stay as he is integral in the way we set up and play. Surviving this season would be worth letting Dom go on a free season's end.

Regarding Branthwaite. He is the future at the back for us, with hopefully O'Brien stepping up as his partner. He is worth a new extended contract and, in my opinion, the captain's armband.

Should he insist on a release clause, then fair enough, but it has to be really worthwhile to the Club regarding the amount.

Now he doesn't have that quality of support and perhaps the injuries over the years have taken a toll on him, but he just doesn't look the same player. He was England's first choice back-up to Harry Kane but has slipped down the pecking order in the last few years.

Obviously his refusal to sign a new contract means the club are forced to look elsewhere and maybe they should try and get a fee for Dominic in January; otherwise, that's another player allowed to run down his contract, and that's happened far too often at this club of late.

IMO, with the long balls (mostly from Pickford), he virtually never lays the ball off to one of our players. Why? Likely because they are never thereabouts or, perhaps, he doesn't have the physical or mental strength to lay the ball off in the right direction, or Dyche ball doesn't suit him. I can't help feeling Calvert-Lewin is a misfit in our current squad.

I know this will piss off many on here but, just a thought. Do I need a crash helmet???

They say a new broom sweeps clean and hopefully that happens with the new ownership. There is no doubting all the players pull their guts out on the field but you have to look at what the quality is.

We can barely compete against any team, and coughing up 7 points from winning positions is unacceptable. Yes, occasionally we get lucky but that must not overshadow the obvious facts that need to be addressed soon.

This was all about the ones who are out of contract or on loan for who we will get nothing. Fire sale in January will mean we will not have enough players to keep us up.

Cynical it may be but, if Friedkin wants a new manager to bring in new players (in conjunction with or without Thelwell), then maybe the reward for Dyche will be – on the day we are mathematically safe – he gets a bottle of Champagne along with a P45 and a handsome payoff. The new Manager can then start work before the end of the season rather than halfway through July.

As for players coming up from the U21s – as a team, they are not exactly ripping up trees in the EFL Tropy against League One and Two clubs – how they are expected to slot into playing in the Premier League? I really struggle to see help coming from that direction.

We may start with 1-year contracts to some (Coleman, Gueye) but would we buy the loanees and the rest are likely to want to leave or we would not want them to stay.

January could be interesting with Dyche buying players who the next guy would not want and we are back on the Moshiri cycle of new manager, new players, sack manager and new manager wants new players.

It's a ridiculous position to be in and means a good number will almost certainly be awarded a new contract purely on the basis of not being able to plug all the gaps in one window. It also means it will be unclear who will still be around come the start of next season whilst some want to go and we might be forced to continue with some players we really don't want to carry.

There's also the outside chance none of them re-sign.

Goalkeepers: I don't think we have an issue here as both Virginia and Begovic seem happy in their status and would extend their contracts.

Defenders: Individually, losing Keane, Young and Coleman is a significant issue. Losing all three could pose a challenge due to the lack of depth in the squad. I'd happily let Keane go but, if Young or Coleman call it a day, then our hand might be forced to keep Keane for numbers purposes.

Midfielders: Again, on paper, losing one of Doucouré and Gueye wouldn't be perceived as a big issue as a replacement could be brought in. Balance that with Mangala being a loan, we'd be down 3 players. I hope we keep Mangala and bring in another quality midfielder.

Forwards: This is a problem area that's attempted to be plugged by loans and players with potential. We have to buy a striker who can score, regardless of the outcome of Calvert-Lewin's contract. We've not properly addressed the striker role since Lukaku left, and we need wide men out there too.

I suspect we'll be buying a few players for key gaps and topping up on loans again before next season.

I think Keane staying or leaving depends heavily on what happens with Branthwaite. If the latter leaves, then I can see Keane being given another contract. Coleman and Young should not be in the first-team squad next season, regardless what happens.

Young's been okay in the last couple of games but it would be good to give Dixon more minutes to allow him to stake a claim. Patterson just seems too unreliable but we hope. Right-back might be okay next season with these two but they'll need to play and prove themselves this season.

Ideally we'd sign a left-back who could also play right-back.

But the main point is that we have this huge dilemma about the manager. If we are going to have to sign 10-15 players just to have a squad at all, I don't want those players to be signed by a manager who we then replace.

Dyche's strengths are squeezing points out of weak squads to survive. His approach to football is to assume the opposition are better than you and try to work round it. That's not where we want Everton to be.

If summer 2025 is to be an opportunity, we need a manager who is prepared to play on the front foot, take the game to the opposition and try to dominate, at least in home games against bottom-half teams. Can Dyche become that manager? Maybe he can, but he's shown no signs so far.

We're going to have new owners, a new stadium, and quite a few new players. Do we want to prepare for the same manager playing the same style of football?

I want a new style of football and a new mentality to go with all this. If Dyche can convince the new owners that he can provide it, then I've got nothing against the man personally – but I'm deeply sceptical about his ability to do that.

I think that this experience taught Dyche we don't have the class of finishers to try and dominate teams and outscore them playing more open footy.

I suspect if we had more of a cutting edge, he would be more expansive again.

He can't make a silk purse out of a how's ear, as no one can.
Kompany with Burnley last year showed the result of playing pretty football without the cutting edge to put teams away. Relegation.

He is doing better now with the same tactics and better players at Bayern Munich. Though they lost by one goal at Villa Park, the same margin we lost there. One goal.

Ironically, Dyche's team was a 5-goal thriller and Kompany's Bayern a tight one-goal game! It's a funny old game indeed.