View: Everton transfer priorities become clear as Friedkins forced to own up to costly mistakes

Everton‘s lack of squad depth has come into question again after their 2-1 defeat to West Ham.

Less than a week after Everton’s agonising, last-gasp reverse to rivals Liverpool, they backed that up with another late loss, this time at London Stadium.

David Moyes was handed a transfer war chest in excess of £100million last summer as The Friedkin Group took punts on Tyler Dibling, Thierno Barry, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, among others.

Arguably, only one of those has worked out, in Dewsbury-Hall, while loanee Jack Grealish impressed in the first half of the season before his campaign was curtailed by injury.

As the Toffees try to salvage their European qualification hopes, it is beginning to become clear which areas Everton need to strengthen ahead of the summer transfer window.

Everton’s transfer strategy doesn’t pay off

On Sunday, Opta’s Aaron Barton highlighted that Everton have used just 22 players in the Premier League this season – the fewest of any team.

Moreover, eight different players have played in more than 70 per cent of Everton’s Premier League minutes this season, and just one of them is a new signing (Dewsbury-Hall).

That means Everton are heavily relying on more established players such as Jordan Pickford, James Garner, James Tarkowski, and Iliman Ndiaye.

Equally, Everton have been without arguably their greatest creative player, in Grealish, for half of the season, and the same could be said for their most impressive defender, Jarrad Branthwaite.

Grealish has made up 53 per cent of Everton’s minutes, while Branthwaite is down at 22 per cent.

Rather than having proven talent on the bench, the Toffees have had to rely on players playing themselves back into form, which can prove costly.

If Grealish is retained next season, that may solve this winger issue. But Dibling has been an expensive flop so far. If they cannot land the Manchester City loanee, Everton will need to sign another winger, with Tyrique George having a solid, if unspectacular, loan so far.

Moreover, Barry hasn’t torn up any roots at Everton, so they may need to cash in on one attacker to fund the signing of another.

Everton have dropped to 11th in the table, and the fact that most of their summer signings have not been trusted to get regular game time suggests the Friedkins got their transfer strategy all wrong.

If they want to climb up the table next season, they may need to eat some humble pie, be introspective, and correct their transfer mistakes.

Europe slipping away from Everton’s grasp

Everton are hoping to qualify for Europe for the first time since 2018, but the manner of their defeat to West Ham was not befitting of a side that is likely to achieve that goal.

West Ham were proactive, and Everton were reactive for far too long. Yes, the Toffees had a strong case for a penalty in the second half, but their performance was uninspiring.

They are still within a victory of the European qualification spots, but it is officially out of their hands now.

They will need to rely on teams above them slipping up, while Everton need to return to winning ways and fast.

That may be difficult when their next game is against title-chasing Manchester City.

Updated 24/7 with expert analysis from the heart of Goodison Park.

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