David Moyes on Everton’s Transfer Plans Amid £35m Compensation to Burnley
David Moyes insists Everton’s summer transfer plans will not be ripped up by the club’s £35m compensation bill to Burnley – but he admits the ruling has left him “really disappointed” and wary of what comes next.
The Premier League ordered Everton to pay a record figure to Burnley this week after the Clarets argued they were damaged by the Toffees’ breach of Profit & Sustainability Rules in the 2021/22 season. Burnley claimed they would have avoided relegation had Everton’s points deduction been applied in that campaign rather than in 2023/24, when Sean Dyche’s side were stripped of eight points.
Everton have appealed and issued a strongly worded statement, saying they believe the verdict is “fundamentally flawed in both law and fact”. The legal fight is only just beginning. The financial hit, though, is already on the minds of supporters.
Moyes, speaking on talkSPORT, did not hide his frustration at the decision.
“I’m not up to the situation exactly how it is and obviously the club are challenging it at the moment as well, which is really important, but it’s really disappointing,” he said.
He also fears the case could trigger a wave of similar claims from other clubs who feel they lost out while Premier League rivals broke PSR rules.
“I don’t know if this opens a huge can of worms with other events as well. Teams who have maybe not got promoted, for example, because the Premier League teams are having problems with PSR.
“I felt that we had paid our dues, if that’s right, and we had done it already, but for this to come back to us, it feels like an individual case.
“But I don’t know if it’s going to open up more things for other clubs to do something similar.”
That sense of being singled out runs through Everton’s response. The club have already been punished on the pitch. Now comes a separate, eye-watering bill off it.
Yet when the conversation turned to transfers, Moyes drew a firm line. Asked directly whether the compensation would hit his summer recruitment, he said he has been given clear assurances from the hierarchy.
“They told me no,” he said. “They told me that it wouldn’t have any effect on it and look I was aware of this probably four or five weeks ago when it was happening that this would be the case.
“So the answer to that is I really hope it has no effect on what we’re going to do in the summer.”
Moyes is clinging to that message. He knows how much Everton need to build, not stand still, after a campaign that unravelled late on.
“I’m hoping that it doesn’t because last season, as you rightly say, we had a good season except the last month or so when we sort of blew up and we were in a really, really strong position.
“So if it’s anything I hope it’s a message to the Premier League. It’s so difficult. If you don’t do well you can find yourself in trouble again. We don’t want to be back in those situations we were in the past.”
His comments on the “good season” have already split opinion among supporters, some of whom bristled at the idea that a strong spell followed by a collapse can be painted as success. Moyes, though, clearly views the bulk of the campaign as evidence that the squad is close to something more convincing – provided it is strengthened, not stripped.
Key to his confidence is the stance of the new owners. Moyes stressed that the Friedkin group, who completed their takeover with full knowledge of the looming case, were not blindsided by the Burnley ruling.
“My understanding is that the Friedkins were aware of this when they were buying the club and there was a possibility this could happen.”
That line matters. It suggests the £35m bombshell was priced into their plans, not dropped on them after the event. Whether that translates into the kind of transfer window Moyes wants is another matter.
For now, the manager is working off the promise that his budget remains intact. The legal battle rumbles on in the background, the threat of a “huge can of worms” hangs over the league, and Everton walk a tightrope between financial punishment and footballing ambition.
If the board keep their word and the chequebook stays open, this summer becomes a test of something else entirely: whether Moyes can turn those “really, really strong positions” into a season that doesn’t blow up when it matters most.
