Everton’s search for a right-back has reached the point where the club’s budget may matter as much as the shortlist. David Moyes said the club have identified a few targets, but he also admitted they are “limited on funds”, a warning sign that the problem may not be solved quickly or cleanly as the new season begins.
That matters because Everton are not just trying to add depth. They are trying to cover a specific shortage while also working through injuries elsewhere, with Christian Nørgaard, James Garner and Tim Iroegbunam all unavailable heading into Saturday. In that kind of set-up, the margin for a perfect transfer gets smaller, and the chance of seeing internal solutions used early gets much bigger.
A shortlist, but not much room to move
Moyes’ comments suggest Everton know what they want, even if they cannot yet afford to force the issue. He said the club have “identified a few we like”, but the bigger point was his admission that the budget is tight. In practical terms, that often means a club either waits for value, pushes for a loan or leaves a gap in the squad and manages it another way.
That is also where Angus Kinnear’s earlier comments fit in. A few days before the Crystal Palace opener, he said Everton would rather wait for their number one target than settle further down the list. Put those two ideas together and the picture becomes clearer: Everton want quality, but not at any price, and they may have to be patient even if the fixture list would prefer otherwise.
The complication is that patience is harder when the team is already thin. If there is no immediate specialist right-back available, then Everton may have to lean on players already in the squad rather than force a rushed move. That can work for short periods, but it also changes the shape of a team’s early-season planning. It is one thing to delay a signing when you are well covered; it is another when you are also carrying midfield absences.
Moyes, for his part, also used his own recent record to underline the standard he is trying to reach. He referenced his 2023 Europa Conference League win with West Ham and said, “We want to get back to that… I know what it looks like.” That is a reminder that he is not talking about rebuilding in the abstract. He is talking about building a side that can function under pressure, and that starts with getting the basics of the squad right.
He also hinted at the competition inside the team, saying, “Tarky will have to play well — he has competition.” That may be a small line, but it matters in the wider context: Everton are trying to keep standards high while also dealing with scarcity. In other words, the message is not that the club are out of ideas. It is that their ideas now have to fit a financial reality.
For Everton, the right-back search is no longer just a recruitment story. It is an early test of how the club balance ambition, availability and budget. If they get it right, the issue becomes a footnote. If they do not, it could shape the opening weeks of the season far more than anyone would like.
