Let’s have a bit of fun.
Forget PSR. Ignore transfer fees. Assume Everton get their deals over the line.
Hayden Hackney signs. Djed Spence arrives. Jack Grealish comes home. Christian Kofane chooses.
Unlikely? Of course. But not impossible. And, there’s a good chance there will be some arrivals who are yet to hit the radar.
But if David Moyes got everything he wanted this summer, Everton’s starting XI could, perhaps, maybe, look something like this.
Everton’s dream XI (4-2-3-1)
Jordan Pickford
Djed Spence – Jake O’Brien – Jarrad Branthwaite – Vitalii Mykolenko
Hayden Hackney – James Garner
Iliman Ndiaye – Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall – Jack Grealish
Christian Kofane
Balance through the middle
Hackney looks tailor-made to play at the base of Everton’s midfield. Calm in possession and always available for the ball, he’ll give the Blues more control without sacrificing high intensity.
Garner’s running power complements him well, while Dewsbury-Hall is clearly a natural fit as the No.10. His pressing, movement and ability to find space between the lines will, we hope, bind the front four together.
It’s a midfield that works hard without giving the ball away cheaply.
Grealish and Ndiaye offer different problems
Grealish starts from the left, as ever, drifting inside and drawing defenders towards him. That creates space for Mykolenko to overlap and gives Dewsbury-Hall another passing option in central areas.
On the other side, Ndiaye is more direct. He runs at defenders, drives into the box and keeps full-backs occupied. The contrast between the two wide players gives Everton a different attacking route on each flank. We saw it for ourselves for the first half of last season
Why Kofane makes sense
Every transfer window throws up one signing that gets Evertonians talking.
Kofane could be that player.
Young, athletic and fearless, he’d give Everton something different at the top end of the pitch. Rather than asking him to score 25 goals in his first season, Moyes would want him to stretch defences, press from the front and grow into the role.
With Grealish, Ndiaye and Dewsbury-Hall supplying chances, he’d have plenty of support.
A defence to build around
Jake O’Brien and Jarrad Branthwaite could develop into one of the Premier League’s best centre-back pairings.
O’Brien’s strength in the air and composure complement Branthwaite’s pace and reading of the game, while Pickford remains one of the world’s most reliable goalkeepers behind them.
Mykolenko is Mykolenko. Moyse likes him. But Spence, fresh from a World Cup, would add something to the right-back position that’s been long-missing: quality and energy.
It’s a back line that should improve together over the next few seasons.
And the bench?
If Moyes could call on players like Merlin Rohl, Tyrique George, Tim Iroegbunam, Thierno Barry and Beto from the bench, Everton would finally have the depth they’ve lacked in recent years.
That’s often the difference between finishing 11th and pushing for Europe.
Where would this team finish?
No one expects Everton to sign every player on their shortlist.
But that’s not the point.
It’s July. Football is built on optimism, and there’s nothing wrong with imagining what might happen if every transfer fell into place.
So over to you.
If this was Everton’s squad on the opening day of the season, where would David Moyes finish in the Premier League? And who else should they sign?
