Everton will enter the summer transfer window open to exploring the striker market despite the improving tallies of Beto and Thierno Barry.
The pair have now combined for 17 goals in the Premier League this season – a return viewed as approaching what would have been acceptable at the beginning of the campaign, particularly after both endured tough starts.
Recent form has increased the belief the club may have something it can work with going forward but concerns still remain over consistency and the number of big opportunities missed at key moments.
The hope heading into the season had been that Beto could rekindle the form that saw him lead Everton to safety at the start of David Moyes’ second reign, providing Barry with the freedom to adapt to the Premier League after his £27m move from Villarreal.
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Yet one goal in the opening 19 league games for the Guinea-Bissau international simultaneously pushed Moyes into experimenting with Barry at a time when the need for goals heightened the pressure on him.
Both forwards have since had good moments – Barry’s highlights including his goals in home and away wins against Nottingham Forest, at Aston Villa and his recent brace against Manchester City, and Beto reviving his season to hit a rich vein of form kickstarted by his 98th-minute equaliser at Brighton & Hove Albion at the end of January.
The pair have improved but Barry’s debut season in Royal Blue was undermined by comments directed towards a section of Blues supporters after the away defeat to Arsenal – posts that led to him being booed at some games.
Offering his view on their contribution this season, Moyes said ahead of the defeat by Sunderland: “I think both of them together have done quite well in the end. I think they’ve taken a bit of time to settle. Both of them, Beto didn’t start the first half of the season well and we had a new player in Barry who was taking time to get going as well. But maybe now the two of them have done decent.”
The club is open to exploring the striker market in the summer but there remains an acceptance that proven forwards are expensive and in demand. Should an affordable option emerge in the window they would consider it, however, and the club is likely to follow Liam Delap’s situation after his difficult first season at Chelsea.
Liam Delap of Chelsea(Image: Harvey Murphy/News Images/SmartFrame)
Everton pursued the 23-year-old last summer and believed they came close to bringing him to Merseyside from Ipswich Town. One goal in 26 league appearances has been an underwhelming start to his career at Stamford Bridge and there will be interest from the Blues if Xabi Alonso looks to move towards other options as he assesses the squad he has inherited in west London.
Ivan Toney has, at times, been on the club’s radar in the past 18 months but the Al-Ahli forward’s recent appearance in Liverpool is not thought to have had any link with the Blues.
Everton must engage with Chelsea this summer whether or not Delap is available. That’s because the clubs discuss whether the Blues wish to keep Tyrique George.
The winger has struggled to break into the starting line-up since arriving at Hill Dickinson Stadium on loan in January but has repeatedly made an impact from the bench.
The 20-year-old was influential as a substitute in the win at Fulham and the draw at Brentford. He created good chances for Barry at West Ham United, for Iliman Ndiaye at Crystal Palace and fired the menacing ball across the box that Jake O’Brien headed into Robin Roefs as the Blues trailed Sunderland 2-1 in the closing stages on Sunday.
Moyes has been pleased with what he has seen from George at Finch Farm and on the pitch and is open to exploring a deal after the season, depending on the impact the cost will have on his wider ability to do business.
Everton do have an option to make the move permanent but may seek to negotiate the terms. Moyes suggested he had not had deep talks over summer recruitment with those above and around him and it appears any attempt to keep George will be dependent on the finances involved and not the impression the youngster has made on him, which has been positive.
Manager David Moyes shakes the hand of Tyrique George after he’s substituted during the match between Everton and Bournemouth at Hill Dickinson Stadium on 10 February 2026(Image: Alfie Cosgrove/News Images/SmartFrame)
The budget available to Moyes will be impacted by the outcome of anticipated talks with Manchester City over securing the return of Jack Grealish. The playmaker was a popular addition to the squad who increased belief among players and supporters. His absence since January has been keenly felt but his recovery from a stress fracture to his foot is advanced and he was able to kick a ball on the Hill Dickinson Stadium pitch when he took part in the end-of-season lap of honour on Sunday.
Moyes and Grealish have struck up an excellent relationship and there is hope at the club that another loan deal will be possible.
Everton are already set to convert one loanee into a signing, with the obligation to make Merlin Rohl’s move permanent having been triggered when the club’s Premier League status was confirmed.
Rohl, who has returned to Moyes’ plans in recent weeks and scored the opening goal against Sunderland, will move from Freiburg for a fee of around £18m. One aspect of work this summer will be to ascertain where his best position is, with his pace making him an asset out wide but with the 23-year-old’s natural spot being in central midfield.
One of the key ambitions is to increase the depth of the squad. Much has been made of Moyes having only used 22 players this season – the lowest in the league. The only senior outfield player not to have been used in the English top flight is Adam Aznou, however.
While the limited minutes to several squad players has been notable at times, Moyes is also dealing with a small squad that was hit hard by injury, suspension and the Africa Cup of Nations across December an January.
Pointing to this in his pre-Sunderland programme notes, CEO Angus Kinnear said: “Our job in the coming weeks and months is to continue with what we always knew would be a two-summer window plan, and ensure the squad has enough depth to mount an even more compelling challenge next term.”
Scrutiny has grown in recent weeks over Everton’s centre-back options after a difficult run of performances coinciding with the loss of Jarrad Branthwaite to injury in the final minutes of the Merseyside derby.
James Tarkowski and Michael Keane have both signed new contracts this season and the view in the aftermath of Branthwaite’s injury was that the club was well-stocked in that position. That position was dependent on the success of Branthwaite’s recovery and his progress this summer will be closely followed.
His latest hamstring issue is thought to be a minor one but, given the extent of his problems over the past year, should he suffer any more issues in the coming months it may force the club to look at adding in that area – particularly if an option that could play out wide becomes available given cover and competition for left-back Vitalii Mykolenko has been sorely lacking this season despite the presence of summer signing Aznou. Both Mykolenko and Idrissa Gueye are on contracts that are currently due to expire in the summer, though the club has the option to extend both.
While John Stones has been linked since confirmation he would leave Manchester City this summer, a reunion is not thought to be a priority due to concerns over his own injury record. Moyes is wary of committing what money is available to players with question marks over their durability.
So far as the defence goes, a specialist right-back is again deemed a priority given the longstanding problems in that position, the exit of Seamus Coleman and the option it would create to move O’Brien into the centre back conversation.
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