Everton rocked by transfer request over David Moyes treatment this season

Everton could make Serie A or La Liga transfer raid to finally solve problem position

Who should Everton target as a new right-back this summer? We asked our Blues writers

Signing a new right-back will be one of Everton’s transfer priorities this summer but who should they go for?

Back on January 30, when speaking in his pre-match press conference to preview the game at Brighton & Hove Albion the next day, Blues boss David Moyes admitted: “We’ve been actively looking for a right-back for over a year.” Since then, Nathan Patterson came close to joining Genoa on deadline day of the winter window while captain Seamus Coleman has now called time on his playing career at Everton after over 17 years with the club.

ECHO Everton reporters Joe Thomas and Chris Beesley have their say on who they reckon the Blues could target.

Joe Thomas

The Aaron Wan-Bissaka links appeared a bit premature when they emerged last week but the prospect of Everton looking to solve their years-long right back issue AND potentially being eager to move early were positive signs for me.

Given David Moyes’ reluctance to use Nathan Patterson despite a good performance in his last start, against Aston Villa in January, and what feels like his longest run without injury in a few years, I think any competent specialist the manager is happy to use takes this club forward.

Providing the deal works for Everton from a financial perspective, I can see clear advantages to signing the former Manchester United defender. That being said, he was not a fixture in a poor West Ham side and has limitations going forward.

With that being the case I would be content with him only if Everton signed an additional option in that area – and I do think they need two who could play there (or, at the very least, a specialist right back and to strengthen enough in central midfield to feel comfortable with James Garner moving across when needed). The end goal for me is clear – move away from any need for Jake O’Brien to be in the future right back conversation. He has tried hard and done relatively well in that position but he has been excellent when allowed to play as a centre back and that is where he should be operating next season.

I haven’t seen much of Brooke Norton-Cuffy but I like what I have viewed and heard about him. A young, English forward who has come through at Arsenal and earned his stripes in the Championship at Coventry City and in Serie A feels like the type of well-rounded, developing player Everton should be targeting. If he can provide an attacking thrust down the right and new competition for Vitalii Mykolenko can offer a threat down the left, it would transform Everton. Bringing in full backs with some adventure would be the easiest, cheapest way to vastly improve this team.

Everton looked at Norton-Cuffy in January and my understanding was they left the pursuit with a view to re-considering the Genoa man in the summer, so exploring the mechanics of a transfer for the 22-year-old would not be a surprise.

He has pace and likes to get forward so he would be my choice.

Another name that would interest me is Devyne Rensch over at Roma. The Dutch defender recorded five goal involvements in 24 Serie A appearances this season and at 23 would be another player fitting the profile I would like Everton to look at. He didn’t play enough to build an argument for the Dutch World Cup squad – 12 of those league appearances were off the bench – so should be hungry to make a name for himself. We’re yet to see any business between the Friedkin Group sister clubs but Roma are well stocked for right backs, with Brazil international Wesley their standout, and a switch for Rensch could be of significant value to Everton.

Chris Beesley

For 18 months, David Moyes has been getting by using a 6ft 6in centre-half Jake O’Brien as an auxiliary right-back and while he’s always been game as a square peg in a round hole, and as a result earning the affectionate moniker of ‘The Cork Cafu’ from myself, it’s time for Everton to get a proper, progressive right-back. Succeeding one club man Tony Hibbert in the role, who famously failed to score for the Blues in 328 appearances – a record for an outfield player at Everton, despite him being a midfielder at youth team level – Coleman helped revolutionise the position.

The man from Killybegs, County Donegal, found the net on 28 occasions for the Blues, including seven times in the 2013/14 alone with his final strike being the spectacular long-distance winning goal from a tight angle against Leeds United at Goodison Park on February 18, 2023. Moyes, who finished with prime Coleman in one full-back berth and Leighton Baines in the other when his first stint in charge at Everton ended, now needs to find a new option who can contribute in the opposition half of the pitch.

For that he can turn to La Liga. Perhaps I could be cheeky and suggest given that Trent Alexander-Arnold’s move to Real Madrid hasn’t worked out with him failing to score in his first season in Spain, finishing empty handed in the trophy stakes at the Bernabeu and being left out of England’s World Cup squad, perhaps he should return to his supposed first footballing love and get Moyes to teach him how to defend.

While that move might be beyond the Blues financially, they could make a move for Sevilla’s Juanlu Sanchez who they were linked with last year. Turning 23 on August 15, he has already made 147 senior appearances. Having represented Spain at Under-16, U17, U18, U19, U21 and U23 level, he was part of their team that won a gold medal in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Starting off as a winger, he has been compared to Sevilla legend Jesus Navas – who had a spell in England at Manchester City – because the pair are both products of the club’s academy and versatile performers down the right-hand side of the pitch and he also inherited his number 16 jersey. Perhaps he could also go on and become a Premier League success?

Seamus Coleman to Depart Everton After 17 Remarkable Years

Everton captain Seamus Coleman has announced he will leave the club at the end of the 2025-26 season when his contract expires, bringing an emotional end to a 17-year association with the Toffees.

The 37-year-old Republic of Ireland international, signed for a bargain £60,000 from Sligo Rovers in 2009, has made over 430 appearances for Everton. In a heartfelt statement, Coleman said: “After more than 17 years at this great football club, I’ve decided this season will be my last as a player here.”

He added that he will take time this summer to decide his future, with options including continuing his playing career elsewhere or accepting a coaching role at Everton, which the club has offered. Manager David Moyes praised the defender as “the glue” that helped the club through difficult times.

An emotional farewell is expected at Goodison Park. Coleman leaves as one of the club’s modern greats and longest-serving players.