Now the dust has settled on last season, what did Everton achieve? A 13th-placed finish duplicated the previous campaign – albeit with one more point – but after promising much most of the way, a woeful return of just three draws from the final seven matches saw the mood of many fans take a sharp turn to the negative. With the Blues very much in the conversation regarding European football, it was galling to see the club slide backwards during the campaign’s closing stages, whilst Bournemouth, newly-promoted Sunderland and Brighton all qualified for either the Europa or Conference League.
Entering the summer, the heat is very much on David Moyes — possibly for the first time in his twelve-and-a-half year association with the Toffees, over two managerial spells. The team has earned 48, 48 and 49 points over the past three campaigns, finishing comfortably midtable each time, so another season of mere stability is unlikely to satisfy many. Fans want to see some much-needed ambition and with CEO Angus Kinnear proclaiming last month that this summer will constitute the second phase of Everton’s two-summer squad rebuild plan, all eyes are on who’ll be departing and arriving during the soon-to-be open transfer window.
The first stage of this procedure will be taking decisions on the fates of those players whose contracts are up at the end of the month. The fate of many have already been announced, but I will be including those in this assessment, as well as indicating what I’d do in the place of the power-brokers at the club. A man can dream!
Signed for €70k Jan 1st 2009
At this time last year, I’d stated that for the club to hand the Irishman a new contract would reek of old-style Everton sentimentality, given the player’s increasing lack of availability over the previous two campaigns (662 and 215 league minutes respectively). Moyes, however, was determined to get the club captain to extend his playing career with the Toffees for another season, citing his leadership presence around the first team as a reason. Well, it turned out pretty much as I’d anticipated, with his decline continuing precipitously, leading to Coleman managing just a single start from five league appearances totalling a pitiful twenty minutes — and limping off after only ten at Old Trafford, in that lone start.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – MAY 17: Seamus Coleman and his family walk his final lap of appreciation after 17 years for Everton during the Premier League match between Everton and Sunderland at Hill Dickinson Stadium on May 17, 2026 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images) Sunderland AFC via Getty Images
Despite the 37-year-old being provably yesterday’s man, Moyes still bizarrely opted to bring him on as a late substitute in Everton’s final home game of the campaign, with the team trailing 2-1 to Sunderland in what would prove to be the moment in which the European door finally slammed shut, for his first appearance in almost six months. Caught out – along with his fellow defenders – for the Black Cats’ third goal, it proved to be a sorry signing-off for the popular veteran in front of a disgruntled home support. The shambolic manner in which his Everton career came to a close left a sour taste in the mouth, and both the club and manager bear much of the responsibility for that. As can be seen, the logic in extending his contract was flawed from the outset and resolved in predictable fashion. Coleman’s choice to reject offers to stay with the Blues in a non-playing capacity and to continue elsewhere, in the hopes of sustaining his international status, was a personal one, and he departs with the best wishes of all, as one of the club’s best ever value-for-money signings.
Signed for €28.5m from Burnley Jul 3rd 2017
Another to feature on this list a year ago, the former Claret was handed a one-year deal, ostensibly to serve as a fourth-choice centre half — a sensible move which retained the services of a durable, experienced player, and removed the need to spend money on an alternative. A big-money signing during the early years of former owner Farhad Moshiri’s profligate spending, Keane’s last campaign as a starter was back in 2021/22, though Sean Dyche made a number of attempts to reestablish his former Burnley player in the first eleven, all of which ended in similar fashion. Still, Keane had proven his worth at the end of Moyes’ return to Everton, stepping in for two of the team’s three end of season victories in 2024/25.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – JANUARY 07: Michael Keane of Everton celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the Premier League match between Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Hill Dickinson Stadium on January 07, 2026 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images) Getty Images
The club’s failure to address the long-standing problem at right back resulted in theoretical third-choice centre half Jake O’Brien continuing in the position for the entire campaign, with Jarrad Branthwaite’s injuries complicating the situation. Even so, few would have envisaged the veteran racking up more than 2,500 minutes of Premier League action last term, including 29 starts. Opinions as to how successful Keane was, given such a big increase in playing time are mixed. Some thought he’d been one of Everton’s best players, whereas others acknowledged that – whilst he’d generally performed solidly – he matched up poorly with the similarly slow and immobile James Tarkowski, as a partnership; the team shipping an alarming 15 goals over the final seven games of the season highlighted this concern.
Keane has signed a new one-year deal and, considering the amount of recruitment the club will have to undertake this summer, the justification for this remains sound. However, much will depend on O’Brien being moved inside to his natural position, and if Moyes actually considers the big Irishman to be ahead of the 33-year-old at centre half, given how little he’s played there since arriving two years ago.
Signed for €23.5m from Dynamo Kyiv Jan 1st 2022
Acquired as a replacement for Lucas Digne, mere days before the departure of Rafael Benitez, the Ukrainian has been a divisive figure amongst fans, despite now having accumulated 159 appearances for the club, across all competitions. He’d start the unpopular Spaniard’s final game in charge, and despite many changes of boss since, he’s been the unchallenged incumbent at left back throughout. Whilst Mykolenko is a solid enough defender, well-suited to the kind of passive style of low block favoured under Dyche, his limitations in support of the attack are evident: he has four goals and just three assists in 143 league games for Everton. He looks uncertain going forward, uncomfortable playing out from the back and his crosses are often just floated into the box from deep, without an obvious target and easy to defend.
Vitaliy Mykolenko of Everton controls the ball while under pressure from Timothy Castagne. (Photo by Peter Nicholls/Getty Images) Getty Images
The news that the 27-year-old has signed a new deal, extending his stay with the Toffees until 2029 has caused much online discontent, with most fans wanting to see him replaced, rather than continuing as a starting player. With the teenage Adam Aznou getting nowhere near the pitch last term, it remains to be seen whether the club bring in a viable alternative to Mykolenko during the summer — one who is able to provide an overlap, improved delivery and who can support whoever lines up on the left wing. From a purely financial perspective, the player commands some market value as a Premier League starter for more than four straight years, so it was prudent of Everton to take steps in order to avoid him walking away for no fee, something which plagued the Blues during Moshiri’s tenure as owner.
Signed for €4m from PSG Sep 1st 2022
This time last year I argued strongly for the midfielder to be retained, given his importance to the team. Then, he’d appeared undiminished in his physical abilities, and was clearly still Everton’s best player in the middle of the park, but it could be convincingly argued that there were signs of decline this term. Known for his metronome-like ability to cover ground, anticipating and snuffing out danger on the fly, the Senegalese has been invaluable in screening the defence as a roving, active disrupter, rather than a traditional holding player. He has demonstrated admirable energy for a man well into his mid-30s, but last season saw a significant decline in his defensive numbers, suggestive of a reduction in dynamism.
Compared to the 2024/25 campaign, last season’s per-90 minutes statistics saw the player’s number of tackles drop from 3.6 to 1.7, duels won from 5.3 to 3.2, interceptions from 1.3 to 1.1, and balls recovered from 5.2 to 4.6. Gueye’s technical performance indicators remained strong, indicating that the issue is down to athletic decline, rather than in general terms, but the veteran’s greatest strength has always been in his capacity to appear to be everywhere, seemingly all at once. If the player, who turns 37 in September, is able to maintain his current levels, then he’s still a valuable asset, but it is questionable whether this is possible, or indeed likely, given his advancing years.
Crysencio Summerville of West Ham United runs with the ball while under pressure from Idrissa Gueye. (Getty Images) Getty Images
With the automatic one-year extension built into the deal Gueye signed last summer not having met the appearance threshold required, a discussion on new terms is ongoing. You can bet that, with the league’s new Squad Cost Ratio arriving next season, the club will be wanting him to accept a lower wage, as he’s currently thought to be one of Everton’s high earners: on a reputed £120k per week, behind only Jordan Pickford. You’d imagine that the player – who will be on show during the World Cup representing Senegal, who figure to advance deep into the competition – would be reluctant to accept much-reduced wages, and will enjoy interest from Saudi Arabia. Everton do appear poised to advance away from their reliance on Gueye, with indications that he’ll depart for pastures new as he enters the closing stages of an outstanding career.
Included for completion purposes, Onyango has been released by the club. Luton-born, he joined the youth ranks way back in 2011 and made his first team debut for the Toffees in the FA Cup five-and-a-half years ago. A useful development loan to League One side Burton Albion in 2022/3 was ended through injury, but the following season he stayed at Everton, playing for the Under-21 side. A temporary move to third-tier Stockport County in 2024/25 was cut short through via a serious hamstring injury, and with him now 21 any chance of him breaking into the senior squad ended. He rejoined the Manchester area club last season, but the tall, rangy midfielder was dropped, before succumbing to another major hamstring injury in February which ended his season. The 23-year-old failed to make the grade at Everton, but can hopefully go on to enjoy a good career in the professional game, if he is able to overcome his fitness issues.