Everton FC correspondent Joe Thomas provides responses to reader questions at the start of a busy summer
18:00, 04 Jun 2026
Tyrique George thanks the supporters after the Premier League match between Brentford and Everton at the Gtech Community Stadium. Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
In the first Q&A of what is set to be a busy summer, Everton FC correspondent Joe Thomas responds to reader queries on issues from the search for a right-back, Jarrad Branthwaite’s fitness and the wider approach to transfers.
Do you think we’ll finally sign a right-back this summer and who? Terry
Hi Terry, I think this will be the window in which we finally see the right back issue addressed. It has to be, surely?
I have been in this role since April 2022 and, given Seamus Coleman and Nathan Patterson‘s injury problems were already starting to show back then, I can say this has been an area of concern in every window that I have been in the post.
The departure of Coleman will add to the sense of urgency and so too will the plight of Patterson. I thought Patterson played well at Aston Villa in his last start for the club and was unfortunate not to play a bigger role in the second half of the campaign. The fact he did not was telling and if he wants regular football he will have to move this summer. He almost joined Sevilla last summer and Genoa in January, so there has been interest.
David Moyes has repeatedly gone on the record in saying he has been looking for a right back for 12 months and the club did believe they were landing Kenny Tete this time 12 months ago.
It has become the biggest priority this summer. Reports of genuine interest in Aaron Wan-Bissaka were premature but West Ham United are eager to sell following their relegation and the option for a quick, affordable upgrade is therefore there. Personally, I feel they need two right backs. Ben White, Emil Holm and Guela Doue have been linked at various stages this year and the Blues tracked Bologna right back Brooke Norton-Cuffy in January and ended that window weighing up whether to reassess the former Arsenal defender in the summer.
Do you think Everton will sign Tyrique George? Luca
Thanks Luca. David Moyes likes George and he impressed at Finch Farm, where he made a positive impression following his arrival in January. Despite the appointment of Xabi Alonso, any thoughts he has on the matter are essentially redundant as Everton have the chance to trigger the option to buy contained in his loan deal.
Everton do want to add a winger this summer and George is a talented player who is already integrated at the club and who performed well in patches towards the end of the campaign. Better finishing could have seen him pick up assists at West Ham, Crystal Palace and against Sunderland and had the chances he created been taken, we could well be talking about how he led the late charge into Europe.
My understanding on George is that Everton are open to a deal but would like to negotiate the terms of making it permanent in the hope of getting a more favourable package. That relies on Chelsea being willing to accept the possibility of selling him for less than the option and also nullifies the protection given by the option. I wouldn’t be surprised if Liam Delap’s situation also becomes a factor in this equation. Moyes still likes Delap and would like to add a striker if an improvement is available on reasonable terms. Everton have a good relationship with Chelsea and while the club will want to raise funds after missing out on Europe, Everton trying to negotiate a loan for either is not out of the question – but they could only get one on those terms.
Will Branthwaite be fit for pre-season? Paul Davies
Thanks Paul. The indications have been positive on this so far. While we all feared the worst when Jarrad was stretchered off against Liverpool, and there is no doubt the end of the season was severely impacted by his injury, his latest problem was viewed in the terms of being a standard absence rather than anything more sinister. There will be a desire to not take anything for granted given the year he has had but the hope is he will be able to have a good run-up to next season.
I know there is no news on Grealish re-signing but I saw he was training at Finch Farm. Is his contract not up now? Christopher
Hi Christopher, thanks for the question. You are right that he remains working at Finch Farm and that is an unusual state of affairs for a loanee – the rest of the first team have started their summer break (or gone on international duty). Grealish is, of course, recovering from injury and it feels telling he is choosing to continue that work at the Everton training ground rather than at City or in private. The latest his loan deal could run to is the end of June and he will be able to use the facilities so long as the club is willing to accommodate him and it is clear the relationship is good between Grealish and Everton.
I’m curious why no reporter asked Moyes why he continued to pick the same team on a losing streak for over two months and why he didn’t understand fans’ frustrations and anger. Did he think we should be grateful for finishing the same as last season? No Mas Psy
I cannot speak for David Moyes but, in relation to his answer about whether he understood the frustration of supporters at the way the season ended, that was in response to my question to him in the press conference after Spurs.
Within that same press conference I asked whether he had considered making more substantial changes to the line-up than switching between Beto and Thierno Barry. When he said he had, I asked why he opted not to and his response was that he would have made changes had he believed they would have strengthened the first team.
It might be worth adding here that the pre-match press conference takes part in two segments – the first part, which is broadcast live, and a second, off-camera part. I am active within that second section and did, in the final months of the season, ask questions including why he was sticking so closely to the same group of players, why he believed they were struggling to hold on to results over this period, and what the limited changes said about the recruitment of the previous summer. Questions over the form and handling of players including Adam Aznou, Tyler Dibling and Thierno Barry were also persistent.
Those answers were reported over the weeks, including in my Royal Blue newsletter. In short, he initially stuck with the same team through those first games after Chelsea because he wanted to keep faith with the team that had delivered the run of form against Newcastle United, Burnley, Arsenal and then Chelsea.
He did make some changes as the form continued to struggle, most notably his turn to Merlin Rohl, but it is fair to say he had a core group that he relied heavily on. The injuries to Branthwaite and Idrissa Gueye were not helpful, Gueye’s absence reducing the potential to move James Garner to right back. You may have seen from the articles we do on the line-ups we would choose before each game, I would have liked to have seen changes at the back and more opportunities for George.
I hope that helps.
Does the Mykolenko renewal mean we aren’t looking for a left-back this window, and do the Keane and Tarkowski renewals mean likewise re centre-back? Ian
Right-back is the priority, for the window and certainly across the defence. Solving that problem would allow Jake O’Brien to compete for a centre back spot and, should Branthwaite be available, provide Moyes with four options at the heart of the defence next season.
Moyes believes Everton are well-stocked at centre back, so long as Branthwaite does not suffer any more issues. If he was to encounter more problems then there is an acceptance that might force Everton into action but, until then, a centre-back would only be pursued if the club struck upon an opportunity deemed too good to turn down.
John Stones did not start this summer high up on Everton’s wishlist because of that and also as Moyes does not want to invest in players with difficult injury track records. That is why it is wise to be wary of links to players like Stones and Gabriel Jesus. You can never say never and Everton have areas clearly in need of improvement but, if it can be helped, there is a desire to avoid risking good money on players whose availability is not guaranteed.
On the left-back situation, the most likely scenario for Adam Aznou is that he ends up going out on loan next season. Everton were open to a loan move for him in January and it was peculiar one could not be sorted.
With that being the case, there will be a willingness to find cover and competition for Vitalii Mykolenko, who looks set to agree to extend his time at the club. A compromise could yet be a player who can cover the left-sided centre back and left back berths.