David Moyes Addresses Everton's Thin Squad After Transfer Window

David Moyes did not try to dress it up. Everton’s squad is thin, the transfer window was bruising, and the Premier League season will not wait for sympathy.

Speaking before Everton’s clash with Manchester United, Moyes admitted the club’s chaotic final days of the window have left him short of bodies – but insisted it has opened a door for players who have barely had a look-in.

A window that started with hope ended with exits. Beto, Adam Aznou, Nathan Patterson, Iliman Ndiaye and Tim Iroegbunam all left in the closing stages of the market, stripping depth from a group that already looked light. Everton did manage to bring Jack Grealish back on loan and add Ainsley Maitland-Niles from Lyon, but a failed move for Folarin Balogun underlined the sense of a plan that never quite came together.

The numbers tell the story. Everton have named just 19 senior players in their 25-man Premier League squad. Three more who are around the first team – Harrison Armstrong, Tyrique George and Tyler Dibling – are registered on the under-21 list, and will be asked to step up when needed.

Moyes, though, leaned on experience rather than panic.

“I know what I needed and I know what it’s like to build a squad for the Premier League,” he said. “I know the numbers you need. I’ve been around long enough to know that, but some things went against us and some things could have gone better. Ultimately, we didn’t want to lose a lot of the players, but for different reasons that had to happen.”

The departures have forced a reset. Rotation will be a luxury. Versatility becomes a necessity.

“They’re all going to have to be able to muck in as we’ve got a real small squad now,” Moyes said. “It gives opportunities to some people who have not had them and sometimes in football you need to be given that chance so that you can show what you can do.

“Let’s see if some of them can do that. I have no concerns. I am sure they will be fully at-it.”

United at Goodison is hardly the gentle introduction any youngster dreams of. Yet for those on the fringes, this is the reality: a stripped-back squad, a demanding manager, and a season that will ask questions of every player in blue.