David Moyes Reflects on Disappointing Deadline Day at Everton
David Moyes has lived enough transfer windows to know how cruel they can be. This one still stung.
Everton’s manager cut a resigned figure as he picked through the wreckage of a deadline day that promised a reshaped attack and ended with a star sold, one marquee striker walking away after a medical, and a squad that looks more patched than upgraded.
The pressure finally told in the final hours. It just told in all the wrong places.
Balogun deal unravels at the last
The centrepiece of Everton’s late push was Folarin Balogun. The Monaco forward had completed his medical at Finch Farm, the fee with the Ligue 1 club renegotiated down from an initial £40m after issues flagged in the tests. Both clubs even signed a deal sheet before the 23:00 BST deadline to buy extra time.
Everton thought they had their man.
Then Balogun changed his mind.
The 25-year-old United States international walked away from the move, leaving Moyes and the club blindsided after hours of brinkmanship and paperwork.
“It wasn’t anyone’s fault and ultimately it happens in football as the player had a problem in his medical and that was simply it,” Moyes said. “There are no other stories behind it. That is exactly what happened.”
For a manager who had built his final-day strategy around landing another striker after losing one of his most important attackers, it was a brutal twist.
Striker search hits a dead end
Balogun was not the only forward Everton chased. With Guinea-Bissau striker Beto already gone to Fiorentina on a permanent deal, the club scoured the market for firepower.
Joshua Zirkzee was sounded out. So was Tammy Abraham.
Both Manchester United’s Zirkzee and Aston Villa’s Abraham listened. Neither was convinced enough to sign.
By the close of play, Everton’s grand attacking rebuild had been reduced to a single headline arrival and a lingering sense of what might have been.
“I am disappointed that we didn’t do more business and things didn’t go our way in the end,” Moyes admitted. “Sometimes in football you have to live with disappointments and move on, and we will.”
He’ll have to. The season will not wait for the window to be rewritten.
Grealish in, Ndiaye out
The one major addition did carry weight. Jack Grealish arrived from Manchester City on a season-long loan, a move that gives Moyes a proven Premier League creator and a player capable of changing the mood of a game with a single touch.
But the cost of that flexibility was painful.
Iliman Ndiaye, one of Everton’s brightest attacking sparks in recent seasons, left for City in a £65m deal. The Senegal international contributed 15 goals and four assists in 67 Premier League appearances for the Toffees and had become a key reference point in their forward line.
Moyes did not hide how reluctant he was to see him go.
“We were looking to get some money in,” he said. “We lost Iliman Ndiaye, which is someone who we definitely didn’t want to lose, but sometimes it is difficult when the likes of Man City come along.”
That is the modern reality for clubs like Everton: talent attracts predators, and the financial temptation can become irresistible.
Defensive plans blocked, one deal done
The transfer frustrations were not confined to the top end of the pitch.
Everton tried to prise Kenny Tete from Fulham, only to see that move stall when Fulham failed to secure a replacement. The right-back stayed put, leaving Moyes without the defensive reinforcement he had targeted.
At least one defender did come through the door. Ainsley Maitland-Niles joined from Lyon in a £3m deal, adding versatility on the right and some much-needed depth.
“Some things went against us and some things we could have done better,” Moyes reflected. “Ultimately we didn’t want to lose a lot of the different players but for reasons that had to happen.”
A window that leaves more questions than answers
Everton’s summer now sits in an awkward middle ground. They have Grealish’s flair, Maitland-Niles’ utility and a sizeable fee banked for Ndiaye. They also have a manager who wanted more, a fanbase that expected more, and a forward line still missing the extra punch he chased until the last hour of the window.
Moyes says he has to live with disappointments. The real test is whether this squad can rise above them.
