Everton's Flanks Face Major Overhaul
Everton’s flanks are being ripped up and rewritten.
David Moyes spent most of last season trusting a settled formula: Dwight McNeil off the right, Iliman Ndiaye from the left. It gave Everton structure, work-rate and a clear out-ball on both sides. That template is about to be torn apart.
McNeil is on the verge of finally getting the move to Crystal Palace that collapsed so dramatically in February, while Al Hilal’s interest in Ndiaye threatens to remove the other half of Moyes’ wide pairing. The wings that framed Everton’s play for much of last year could both be gone by opening day.
McNeil out, Johnson in
McNeil’s situation has hung over Everton since winter. Back in February, Palace agreed a loan-to-buy deal that would have turned into a £20m permanent transfer this summer. He passed his medical. Bags were virtually packed.
Then the deal died in the small print. Paperwork could not be completed in time and the move collapsed at the last moment, leaving the winger stuck in limbo and his camp furious.
His partner, Megan Sharpley, voiced that anger publicly, posting on Instagram about the emotional toll of the failed move and the impact on mental health. It was a rare glimpse into the human cost of deadline-day brinkmanship, a reminder that careers and lives sit behind every “deal off” ticker.
Now the move has been revived, this time with Brennan Johnson involved in the exchange. The dynamic is different, the stakes the same. McNeil looks set to get his switch to Selhurst Park at the second attempt, and Moyes appears ready to reshape his attack around a new right-sided presence.
The Ndiaye question
On the opposite flank, Ndiaye’s future is no less pivotal. Al Hilal’s interest means Everton must plan for the possibility that last season’s left-sided starter will not be around for the new campaign.
For a manager who values stability and structure, Moyes suddenly finds himself staring at the prospect of losing both first-choice wide men in one window.
Grealish, if the door opens
One obvious solution sits in the medical reports. Jack Grealish arrived from Manchester City on loan last season and, across 22 appearances, looked every inch the difference-maker Everton had hoped for.
In the first half of the campaign he carried genuine threat, drifting in off the flank, drawing fouls, knitting attacks together. Then came the foot injury in January that cut his season short and left his future in limbo.
A return is possible, not guaranteed. If Everton can bring him back, Moyes gains a ready-made, Premier League-proven wide option who already understands the demands on Merseyside. If they cannot, the onus shifts sharply to the club’s younger, less established wide players.
Dibling at a crossroads
Tyler Dibling is the great unknown in all of this. Signed from Southampton for £40m last summer, he arrived with the price tag of a key player but lived a very different reality.
Four Premier League starts. Long spells on the fringes. Then Grealish’s arrival pushed him even further down the pecking order.
It was a transitional season, but not the one either player or club imagined. Now, with the senior wide roles potentially up for grabs, Dibling has a narrow window to prove he can be more than an expensive project. Moyes needs output and reliability, not just promise.
George pushing from below
Tyrique George sits just behind him in the queue, but his trajectory feels very different. After a successful loan spell on Merseyside, Everton moved quickly to sign him from Chelsea for £24m.
He made 11 appearances last season, starting only once, yet clearly left an impression. Moyes labelled him “an excellent boy with an excellent work-rate” at the end of his initial four‑month stint. Managers do not hand out that sort of praise lightly, especially not Moyes.
George may not yet have the numbers or the profile, but he has the manager’s trust and the physical tools to play the high-intensity wide role Everton demand. If McNeil and Ndiaye depart, his path to regular minutes suddenly looks far less cluttered.
Rohl in the mix
Merlin Rohl is the more subtle option. He has operated out wide in a handful of games, offering tactical flexibility rather than explosive wing play.
For Moyes, that versatility matters. Rohl can tuck inside, help overload midfield, or simply hold shape and protect his full-back. In a squad being ripped open on the flanks, a player who can plug multiple gaps has real value.
A new look on the touchlines
So what does opening day actually look like for Everton on the wings?
McNeil likely gone. Ndiaye heavily courted. Grealish a possibility but not a certainty. Dibling under pressure to justify his fee. George knocking hard on the door. Rohl ready to fill in wherever the system demands.
For a club that leaned so heavily on the same two wide men last season, the transformation is stark. Moyes is not just changing personnel; he is being forced to rethink the entire balance of his attack.
The question now is simple, and brutal: will Everton’s next generation of wide players step up quickly enough, or will this be the season the touchlines tell a harsher story?
