David Moyes Confirms Everton's Need for a Right-Back
David Moyes insists Everton still want a specialist right-back in before the transfer window closes – even as he leans on stop-gaps who keep delivering.
The Everton manager has spent the opening week of the season talking up the versatility inside his squad, name-checking Nathan Patterson, Merlin Rohl, James Garner and Jake O’Brien as players who can plug the gap on the right of defence if needed.
But he does not want to live like that for long.
“We definitely would like a right-back. We would,” Moyes said, underlining the priority. The issue is not simply about filling a shirt in defence. It is about what he loses elsewhere every time he patches that side of the back line.
“For example today, while we're playing Merlin right back, I couldn't play him in midfield as well,” he explained. “So, today keeps me short of numbers in midfield, and I'm having to balance a little bit of what we want.”
That balancing act was on show in the 2-0 win over Crystal Palace, where Rohl, signed as a midfielder, impressed again at right-back after a strong pre-season. His energy and athleticism gave Everton a different dimension, but Moyes is wary of turning a useful option into a long-term solution by default.
“He is keen to do well and show us that he could be a right-back, Merlin. And because of that, we're happy,” Moyes said. “He can play other roles for us, which means that we can play him further forward, we can play them in different ways. He's got a different sort of level of athleticism to some of the other boys in some ways. And he's a good footballer, generally, and he can score if we get him closer to the goal. But he's also doing okay.”
The manager’s dilemma is clear. Rohl is thriving. O’Brien has already shown he can cope out wide when required. Yet both see themselves elsewhere on the pitch.
“Look, we can still play Jake O’Brien at right-back,” Moyes added. “He's proved, certainly against a lot of the quick boys, that he's really good and he'll give us something if we need it in that position. But he prefers to be a centre back.”
So the search continues. Not just for any right-back, but for one who genuinely upgrades what Everton already have.
“Everybody's talking about a right-back, so I'm saying, well, I hope it's better than Jake O’Brien, I hope it's better than Merlin Rohl and what they're offering,” Moyes said. “And obviously, we're always trying to get better than what we've got - in every position to be truthful. You're always, as a manager, you're trying and it's not that easy to just go and get yourself better than those two. Merlin in pre-season played really well. He certainly deserves the chance to play.”
For now, Rohl and O’Brien keep the door from blowing open. The question is whether Everton can find someone, before deadline day slams shut, who finally locks that right side down for good.
