Did you know Everton will only have 13 first team players come summer 2025? I’m sure you have seen the many pundits and fans talking about the rebuild facing Everton in the summer and for a club skirting PSR regulations it can seem like a daunting challenge.
The added issue of Director of Football Kevin Thelwell’s expiring contract and the power dynamic between incoming manager David Moyes and the incumbent recruitment boss adds more instability to a challenging situation for the club.
But how bad is it? Are Everton facing a transfer crisis in the summer? Let’s break it down by position.
Who is leaving Everton in summer 2025?
In goal backup goalkeepers Asmir Begovic and Joao Virginia’s contracts are up in the summer, as are central defenders Michael Keane and Mason Holgate. Both are expected to depart.
Everton can expect Ashley Young and Seamus Coleman to either retire, move into a coaching role or leave the club for another role. The veterans are almost certainly going to depart from the playing staff.
And in midfield 35-year-old Idrissa Gueye will have suitors in Saudi Arabia and other leagues, while Abdoulaye Doucoure’s contract is also up. Oriel Mangala will return to Lyon, while Jack Harrison and Jasper Lindstrom are also only on loan at the club.
Up front Dominic Calvert-Lewin is refusing to sign a new contract, while Armando Broja is injured and could return to Chelsea as early as January.
It leaves Jordan Pickford, Vitali Mykolenko, Jarred Branthwaite, James Tarkowski, Jake O’Brien, Nathan Patterson, James Garner, Tim Ireogbunam, Dwight McNeil, Beto, Youssuf Chermiti and Iliman Ndiaye as the club’s only contracted senior players.
Goalkeeper
The goalkeeper situation is probably the least of Everton’s worries. Pickford will be number one and Joao Virginia has a one year extension clause if Everton choose to activate it. The club may want to activate this and cash in, with Championship and foreign clubs interested in the 25-year-old.
If that is the case Zan-Luk Leban is next in line. The former Barcelona and Manchester United trainee is 22 and highly rated at the club. He starred in the recent u21 derby win against Liverpool and has been kept around the club to ‘help with the first team’ according to u21 manager Paul Tait. He could replace Virginia as potential third choice in the new season.
Asmir Begovic is 37 but don’t rule out a contract extension there either. Moyes has previously employed senior goalkeepers (Carlo Nash, for example) and he would provide solid backup if needed. If he were to leave Roma’s Matt Ryan is an experienced keeper who is out of contract in the summer and would be an option given the team’s Friedkin Group links.
Preston’s Freddie Woodman – a potential Moyes link – or Leicester’s Danny Iverson could be cheap backup options on a free, as is former Everton backup Robin Olsen.
Elsewhere, George Pickford and Dominik Ljukjanciks will not bother the first team but represent a promising pipeline.
Defenders
Mykolenko will remain at Everton but may need a new contract. His expires in 2026 and Everton risk losing him on a free if they do not secure a new deal. Either way a new left back will need to be signed, with only Jake Butler able to play there from the u21s. He is more likely to be loaned out than secure a first team spot.
The dream signing would be Kyle Walker-Peters from Southampton (assuming Everton stay up) but there will be fierce competition for the full back who is on a free. Palace’s Tyreik Mitchell is also available out of contract but while he is a solid defender, the England international is not a particularly attacking full back.
In the centre Everton will want to hold on to Jarred Branthwaite. His sale would give the club plenty of money for a rebuild but he would be tough to replace. The back line is shallow anyway, with only Tarkowski and O’Brien available as senior centre halves.
Reece Welsh will leave the club after a couple of disastrous loans, but Eli Campbell may be a good left-footed back up. He can also play left back and wing back and is enjoying an excellent loan spell at Ross County.
Everton may reignite interest in Ipswich’s impressive Jacob Greaves. Or they could target free transfers in Spurs’ Ben Davies, Eric Dier from Bayern Munich or ex-Newcastle man Chancel Mbemba from Marseille. The latter at 30 has been solid in the French league and would be an outside the box option. Other options will be on Moyes’ list and a centre back will need to be brought in over the some regardless of Branthwaite’s future.
Everton may also need a right back. Patterson will be the only senior option and has not yet been favoured by Moyes. Roman Dixon should head out on loan, leaving Everton light in that area. They have been linked to Brazilian Wesley in this transfer window.
Midfield
Everton’s central midfield options will be James Garner and Tim Iroegbunam, who are both currently injured. It may be the club decides to extend Gueye or Doucore – or both – for another year as defence and attack will be key areas to upgrade.
Mangala would be an obvious choice to make permanent with Lyon in financial difficulty. There is no buy clause but somewhere around £20m would be a good deal for the Belgian international.
Everton fans will hope Harrison Armstrong can also step up and pad out the midfield options in 2025/26. At just 17, he already looks like he has a bright future ahead of him.
A long-term replacement for Doucoure is a must. A player who can press, pass and score goals would transform Everton and will be one of the new signing targets for Moyes.
Wingers
The need for pace on the wing has been an issue at Everton for a long time. Everton will have two capable attacking players going into 2025/26 in Iliman Ndiaye and Dwight McNeil but it is unlikely Jack Harrison’s loan will be extended.
In the youth sides Omari Benjamin is a talented winger who should be considered, while Jacob Beaumont-Clark and Justin Clark are two to watch for the future.
More recruitment is needed. Ernest Nuamah has been heavily linked but Everton will probably need two options here. One could be Jesper Lindstrom, who would cost £20m to make his loan move permanent and that depends on him extending his good game against Spurs into a run of form towards the end of the season.
Strikers
With Dominic Calvert-Lewin departing and Beto rumoured to be on the way out, this will be the most transformed area of the Everton squad.
Everton will probably need two strikers and hope Chermiti can fulfil the promise he showed in pre season last year. Martin Sherif leads a list of talented youngsters who will be keen for a chance but Braiden Graham, George Morgan and Ceiran Loney will be eyeing u21s success next year as opposed to first team football.
In short, this is the most pressing, most expensive and most difficult position to get right and will probably see the bulk of Everton’s transfer spend.
Overall
The extension of some contracts – Joao Virginia, Idrissa Gana Gueye or Abdoulaye Doucoure – could potentially push that figure up to 15 or 16 players. That is before you add any January additions, with David Moyes stating he wants some incomings you can expect two players to arrive at the club, further bolstering the squad to around 17 or 18
Once you add in the likes of Armstrong, Dixon, Benjamin and Sherif you have a few more options to fill benches and plug positions on a budget and if Everton were to bring in loan players the squad is starting to move towards the 20+ range even before new permanent arrivals are taken into account.
A new left back, centre half, right back, central midfielder, winger and striker will be on the agenda and that seems like a daunting task but clever free transfers, talented youngsters, affordable veterans and the loan market can help to fill gaps while saving the bigger spend for key positions that probably include central midfield, right wing and up front.
While it is very much revolution and not revolution the ’13 players’ headline is not the disaster some may make it out. It will need clever use of limited transfer budgets and a couple of key players (Calvert-Lewin and Gueye) replaced but Everton could go into next year with a better, younger and more dedicated squad to take in to Bramley Moore Stadium.