We are well into the 2026-27 season, and the Premier League is already delivering exactly what supporters hoped for.
Title contenders are dropping points in unexpected places, the midtable is tighter than anyone predicted, and several clubs are scrapping hard to push into the upper reaches of the table before the campaign really finds its rhythm.
There are some genuinely fascinating battles shaping up across the division, and the next few months will go a long way toward deciding who ends up where. Many Everton fans have already started betting on football, and most predict a finish with Everton in the upper half of the table.
But this season’s goal is bigger than that; it is about securing a place that leads to European competition. The honest question is whether that ambition is realistic, or whether it remains, for now, a dream that is simply too far-fetched.
Where Everton Stand Right Now
Back-to-back 13th-place finishes told a story that nobody at the club wanted to hear twice. Progress stalled, European qualification slipped away late in 2025-26 after a promising mid-season run, and the summer brought genuine excitement and lingering concern in equal measure.
David Moyes came into this campaign in the final year of his contract, under real pressure to show the Friedkin Group that he can push Everton into the conversation with the likes of Aston Villa and Newcastle United.
The new Hill Dickinson Stadium gives the club a physical symbol of forward momentum, but bricks and steel do not win football matches. What matters is whether the squad assembled for 2026-27 has enough quality, depth, and consistency to compete over 38 games at a level that produces a European finish. On paper, there are reasons for cautious optimism. In practice, too many question marks remain for anyone to predict it with confidence.
The Transfer Business: Good, But Not Quite Complete
Everton’s summer recruitment showed clear intent. Hayden Hackney arrived from Middlesbrough after a standout Championship season, bringing composure and energy to a midfield that lacked both at crucial moments last term. Christian Norgaard adds experience and intelligence in that same area, and Merlin Rohl offers versatility that Moyes can use across the back line and further forward when needed.
The most eye-catching arrival is Tyrique George, the 20-year-old signed permanently from Chelsea for an initial £18.5 million.
The Tactical and Squad Depth Questions
One of the clearest lessons from last season was that Moyes relied far too heavily on a small group of players. Everton used the fewest players of any Premier League side and made the fewest substitutions. That is a damning statistic, and the consequences were visible in the final weeks of the campaign, when tired legs and a string of late goals conceded ended any hope of European qualification.
Moyes has brought in Dave Reddington to handle set-pieces, a role vacant since Charlie Adam’s departure in the summer of 2025. That is a smart addition; Everton were too easy to defend from dead-ball situations and did not threaten enough from their own. Small details like that can easily account for four or five points across a season, which at this level is the difference between eighth and twelfth.
The bigger question is whether Moyes will actually use his squad more liberally. Players like Tyler Dibling, Harrison Armstrong, and Adam Aznou are ready for more minutes. Hackney and Armstrong both performed well in pre-season, and the balance of experience and youth in the current midfield group looks promising.
Is a European Finish Realistic?
Everton finishing in the top seven this season, likely the minimum required for European football, demands several things go right at once. Branthwaite stays fit. Barry or Beto finds the consistency to lead the line effectively. Garner returns to his best form. The right-back problem gets solved. And Moyes trusts his wider squad rather than burning out his first-choice eleven by March.
None of those conditions are guaranteed. But none of them are impossible either. This is a club with new ownership that has invested meaningfully, a new stadium generating fresh energy among the supporters, and a manager who understands the demands of the Premier League better than almost anyone. The pieces are closer to fitting together than they have been in years.
European football for Everton after 2026-27 is not a fantasy; it is a target with a realistic pathway. Whether the squad, the manager, and the decision-makers in the boardroom can align long enough to reach it is the real test of how far this club has genuinely come.
