---
title: "Everton made £45m striker move as Deadline Day scramble deepened"
canonical: "https://readeverton.com/everton-taty-castellanos-45m-deadline-day-move/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Gary Gowers"
section: "Everton News"
published: "2026-09-04T16:00:00Z"
modified: "2026-09-22T12:36:40Z"
---

# Everton made £45m striker move as Deadline Day scramble deepened

**More details continue to emerge about just how frantic [Everton](https://readeverton.com/)‘s search for a striker became on Deadline Day.**

[TEAMtalk](https://x.com/GraemeBailey/status/2095874276981149890?s=20) are now reporting that the Toffees made a late move for West Ham forward [Taty Castellanos](https://readeverton.com/tag/taty-castellanos/), with a package potentially worth £45million put forward.

According to Graeme Bailey, Everton made contact as their attempts to land [Folarin Balogun](https://readeverton.com/folarin-balogun-everton-transfer-50m-medical/) and other striker targets ran into difficulties. A verbal proposal of around £40m plus a further £5m in add-ons is claimed to have been made on Tuesday afternoon.

## West Ham needed a replacement

The report says West Ham were prepared to listen to Everton’s proposal, despite Castellanos only joining them from Lazio in January.

There was, however, a familiar problem. West Ham were only prepared to sanction the Argentina international’s departure if they could find a suitable replacement.

With Everton’s approach arriving so late, the Hammers were unable to do that, and Castellanos stayed. The claim provides another glimpse into Everton’s increasingly frantic search for a centre-forward.

A £40m deal for Balogun collapsed following problems around his medical and a subsequent change of heart from the player. Everton also explored moves for Manchester United’s Joshua Zirkzee and Aston Villa’s [Tammy Abraham](https://readastonvilla.com/2026/09/01/tammy-abraham-aston-villa-transfer-decision-ipswich/), but neither came off.

Beto had already been allowed to join Fiorentina. That ultimately left [David Moyes](https://readeverton.com/david-moyes-everton-future-transfer-window/) with Thierno Barry as his only recognised senior centre-forward – and the manager confirmed today that Everton are now looking at the free-agent market.

A few days on from Deadline Day, and we’re still discovering quite how many doors Everton knocked on.

***For updates on the Toffees throughout the season, take a look at our [LIVE! Premier League 2026/27 News, Transfers, Updates & Viral Moments](https://dave.sport/live/premier-league-2026-2027-season-updates/) page.***