Fast forward to 2027
FAN VIEW
It’s a very different Everton with a new manager in charge and a raft of new signings in place
It is June 2027. David Moyes has departed after a fairly boring season where we finished 10th and made the quarter finals of the League Cup. Liam Delap hits the best goals return (13) for an Everton striker since 2021.
Kieran McKenna is appointed as Moyes's replacement, after a year off playing with his kids and tending to his herbaceous borders. The good news is that the financial shackles have eased further and the recruitment team have a kitty of £230m to supplement the squad assembled summer 2026.
Steady progress in recruitment over two summers sees us assemble a squad that Transfermarkt rates as 8th and the bookies see as likely to qualify for Europe.
It’s possibly / probably the best squad we’ve had in the entire Premier League era – and McKenna has a track record of good football and outperforming the level of investment in the playing squad. Here's how it shapes up... something to look forward to:
First XI
Pickford
Lewis (bought from City 2026)
Diouf (bought from West Ham 2026)
Branthwaite
O’Brien
Hackney (bought from Boro 2026)
Garner
Manzambi (bought from Freiburg 2027)
Nwaneri (bought from Arsenal 2027)
Gittens (bought from Chelsea 2027)
Delap (loan converted to permanent signing 2027)
Second XI
Tzolakis (bought from Olympiakos 2027)
Kpakio (bought from Cardiff 2027)
Methalie (bought from Toulouse 2027)
Harwood-Bellis (bought from Saints 2026)
Bah (bought from City 2027)
Armstrong
Rohl
Dewsbury-Hall
Dibling
Fatawu (bought from Leicester 2026)
Barry
Reader Responses
Selected thoughts from readers27/06/2026 09:42:26
13 signings across two summers isn’t an unusually high number. I don’t think it would be a statement of ambition so much as fairly natural turnover in a squad sorely in need of surgery.
In terms of striker options I would have thought they will be looking at Delap, Ferguson, Franculino, Castro, Balogun and a few others.
Balogun is doing okay in the World Cup but he’s not really an upgrade and would be a waste of £30m.
It is going to be extremely difficult to find a striker to score more than 12 goals for us in his first season. Despite his obvious limitations Barry hit decent numbers for a debut season - especially in a side so poorly set up for attack.
Upgrade the full backs and Barry (and the team generally) will get more goals too.
30/06/2026 06:55:55
Robert, great scenario and exactly the direction TFG will take. Moyes's functional football won't cut it,they'll want a modern identity.
Love the squad you've assembled, especially addressing full-backs and that midfield trio. But I echo John's concern about striker,Delap's 13 goals is decent but we've needed a clinical finisher since Lukaku.
Kinnear will feel the pressure too. McKenna would be a statement appointment but the expectations would be huge.
This blueprint gives me real hope.
30/06/2026 17:06:22
Our best chance of a top quality striker is to buy someone age 16 to 19 (or younger). Much like what Bournemouth did with Kroupi.
If you buy the best you can afford now, you keep stockpiling average strikers in the 8 to 12 goal a season zone.
Players like Filling, Prosper and Nguessan and others will probably move this summer and they are big talents but within budget. Fofana of Lens too but he is likely to cost £45m or more. The others I mention would all be less than £25m but may take a few seasons. Not all will work out, so you move them on and don’t get sentimental. You keep going - but always focussed on those with Champions League technical ability.
I think the one available striker who could hit big goals (and be just about within budget) might be Santiago Castro. He is a high quality technical player but not yet hit a big goal haul. I doubt he’d score more than 8 in his first season in the Prem - but has the ability to kick on from there and be a consistent Champions League standard striker.
If the Lukaku we bought was around now the fee would probably be £85m at least and could even exceed £100m.
01/07/2026 06:47:31
Robert Everton could negotiate a installment plan for such a striker with potential.The stumbling block is how he would be developed at Everton.Bowen is Moyes idea of a Striker.Who was ready made at West Ham before Moyes arrived.In the early next season this will become apparent to TFG.They already have the data from last season.Hackney is probably at 24 is probably considering his option and would be insisting on first team football.
06/07/2026 03:41:28
Moyes out now!!
McKenna is a good option althugh Don Carlo would be my preferred choce.
And just win that damn cursed League Cup. It surely can't evade us forever.
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26/06/2026 18:31:19
Thanks Robert. You offer an intriguing possibility. Thirteen signings across the three transfer windows would be an exciting statement of ambition. Obviously there are risks, not least that associated with integrating such a large intake while delivering results. As ever, my first concern would be about the striker role. Delap might well be the best, or only, first choice option available but I really struggle to see Barry as an acceptable back-up even if he is prepared to stay.
I really hope Branthwaite can overcome his longstanding fitness problems and establish himself as a reliable first choice. The long term contract signed twelve months ago was intended to signal a new direction in squad building but unfortunately we have yet to see the benefit. With a stronger fitness record Harwood-Bellis would be a solid alternative.
Which Nwaneri will we sign? Ethan or his younger brother Emerson?