---
title: "Everton’s right-back merry-go-round: ranking every name in the running"
canonical: "https://readeverton.com/everton-right-back-targets-ranked-likelihood-fee/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Gary Gowers"
section: "Everton Transfer News"
published: "2026-07-21T12:00:00Z"
modified: "2026-09-22T13:00:42Z"
---

# Everton’s right-back merry-go-round: ranking every name in the running

**We expected Grealish to be the story of the summer, and it/he hasn’t disappointed, but not far behind is the quest to land a shiny new right-back.**

We’ve covered Brooke Norton-Cuffy, Rico Lewis, Zakaria El Ouahdi, Djed Spence and Aaron Wan-Bissaka in one day alone, and that’s before you count Ben White, Guéla Doué and Raoul Bellanova, who’ve all [featured on Everton’s shortlist](https://readeverton.com/2026/07/01/everton-right-back-search-wan-bissaka-bellanova-spence-doue/) at various points.

Eight names, one position, still no signing. So… every name still in play, ranked by likelihood, fee, and fit — updated as things move, which, given today, could be by lunchtime tomorrow.

### 🥇 Most likely: Brooke Norton-Cuffy (Genoa)

**Likelihood:** High\
**Fee:** Formal bid of €15m (£12.8m) submitted; Genoa want closer to €20m (£17m)\
**The fit:** A straightforward right-back signing rather than a repurposed midfielder and/or wing-back. Everton have moved beyond monitoring here — this is the most advanced deal of the lot, and the gap in valuation looks to be narrowing.

### 🥈 Live, but complicated: Rico Lewis (Manchester City)

**Likelihood:** Medium-high\
**Fee:** Around £30m\
**The fit:** Versatile, comfortable on the ball, exactly what Moyes wants — but Premier League loan rules mean Everton can’t have both Lewis and a second Jack Grealish loan unless Lewis comes in permanently. The best player on this list, if Everton can untangle the logistics.

### 🥉 Wildcard: Zakaria El Ouahdi (Genk)

**Likelihood:** Medium\
**Fee:** Around £12m\
**The fit:** Good athletic profile, comfortable further forward too. The complication is that Everton’s own owners, the Friedkin Group, also control Roma — who are reportedly prioritising the same player.

### Priced out: Guela Doue (Strasbourg)

**Likelihood:** Low\
**Fee:** Around £40m\
**The fit:** Arguably the [best all-round player on this list on output alone](https://www.toffeeweb.com/season/25-26/news/47740.html) — strong numbers going forward and defensively last season. Strasbourg’s valuation puts him in a different aisle to where Everton are shopping, with Newcastle, PSG, Borussia Dortmund and Inter also credited with interest at that price.

### Competing elsewhere: Raoul Bellanova (Atalanta)

**Likelihood:** Low\
**Fee:** Around £17m\
**The fit:** Solid, experienced, and at a fee Everton could realistically stretch to — but Tottenham and Nottingham Forest are also involved, and Bellanova hasn’t carried the same urgency as the front-runners.

### Fallen down the pecking order: Ben White (Arsenal)

**Likelihood:** Low\
**The fit:** Premier League and Champions League pedigree, plus the versatility to play centre-back too. But at 28, having lost his place under Arteta and with [a serious knee injury in his recent history](https://www.grandoldteam.com/2026/07/16/everton-right-back-targets/), this looks more like a name that got mentioned once than a genuine pursuit.

### Fading fast: Djed Spence (Tottenham) and Aaron Wan-Bissaka (West Ham)

**Likelihood:** Very low\
**The fit:** Both were real contenders earlier in the window. Spence has slipped down the pecking order as Norton-Cuffy advanced, while Everton have stepped back from Wan-Bissaka, with Lazio and Arsenal now credited with interest instead.

### Where this leaves us

If we had to bet: Norton-Cuffy gets there first on pure momentum, but Lewis is the name that would raise the most eyebrows if it happened. Either way, right-back has generated more transfer column inches than any other position at the club this summer — and given last year ended with Everton failing to sign anyone in the position after losing out on Kenny Tete, a queue of options feels like progress.