David Moyes Turns to Free-Agent Market After Everton's Deadline Day Disappointment
David Moyes did not bother dressing it up. Everton’s transfer window ended with gaps all over the squad and a sense of opportunity missed. Now, with the window shut and a trip to Manchester United looming on Sunday, the club are scrambling for solutions in the only place left to look: the free-agent market.
The need is stark. Late-window exits for Iliman Ndiaye, Beto, Tim Iroegbunam, Adam Aznou and Nathan Patterson have stripped depth from a squad that was already thin. Both full-back positions are exposed, centre-forward is down to a single senior option, and the season has barely begun.
Press Conference Insights
At his pre-match press conference, Moyes made it clear Everton are not simply browsing.
“We are looking at the free agents market,” he said. “I am trying to get a team that is going to be at the top end and challenge. I want the players to believe that we are moving forward – for me, that is really important.”
This is not a long-term strategy. It is emergency work. Players without clubs can still be signed outside the window, but they must be registered before an internal cut-off point, understood to be around a week after the deadline. The clock is ticking, and every day without reinforcements sharpens the risk.
The frustration stems from how close Everton came to landing a marquee signing. Folarin Balogun’s proposed deadline-day move collapsed at the final stage, turning what might have been a statement window into a patch-up job.
Moyes did not hide his disappointment.
“Disappointed we didn’t do more business and disappointed things didn’t go our way in the end,” he admitted. “Sometimes in football you have to live with disappointment and we will move on.”
There was no appetite from him to fan the flames around the Balogun saga. No blame game, no veiled digs, just a blunt explanation of why the deal died.
“It wasn’t anybody’s fault,” Moyes said. “It happens in football a lot. The player had a problem in his medical and that was simply it. There’s no other story behind it.”
So Everton pivot. The profile of player available now is very different from those pursued in August: older legs looking for one more run, youngsters released from bigger clubs, specialists who might plug a hole for six months rather than reshape a project.
The challenge for Moyes is to turn that scrap-heap perception into something more purposeful. He wants a squad that believes it can “be at the top end and challenge”, yet he must build that belief while stitching together a team from what’s left of the market.
Manchester United away is hardly the ideal backdrop for a patched-up side, but the reality is simple: Everton need bodies, and they need them fast. The next week will show whether the free-agent market can offer more than stopgaps — and whether Moyes can still turn late-window disappointment into early-season momentum.
