James Garner is back in the frame for Everton as David Moyes says the club is looking at the free agents market. Five late-window exits left the squad short in key areas, and the manager now has to use the period after the deadline to repair the damage rather than wait for another window.
“We are looking at the free agents market. I am trying to get a team that is going to be at the top end and challenge. I want the players to believe that we are moving forward – for me, that is really important,” Moyes said ahead of facing Manchester United on Sunday. He also said, “Disappointed we didn’t do more business and disappointed things didn’t go our way in the end. Sometimes in football you have to live with disappointment and we will move on.”
Everton and the one-week clock
Free agents can still be added after the transfer deadline closes, but Everton must register any signing before a separate deadline understood to be around a week later. That makes the club’s next move a timing exercise as much as a recruitment one: the player has to be available, the paperwork has to clear, and the registration has to land inside that narrower window.
Everton need that speed because the late-window exits of Iliman Ndiaye, Beto, Tim Iroegbunam, Adam Aznou and Nathan Patterson left them thin across several positions. Moyes said both full-back positions and centre-forward are particular areas of focus, with only one senior option in each of those roles.
Manchester United and the Balogun collapse
Manchester United on Sunday is the immediate backdrop, but the deeper issue is squad balance. Moyes said he wants a team that is “going to be at the top end and challenge,” and that message fits a club that has to keep building even after the deadline has passed.
Folarin Balogun’s deadline-day move also fell through, and Moyes was blunt about why: “It wasn’t anybody’s fault [The failed Balogun deal]. It happens in football a lot. The player had a problem in his medical and that was simply it. There’s no other story behind it.” The failed deal leaves Everton searching for a cleaner fit, not just a body, because a rushed signing that cannot be registered or passed through medical checks solves nothing.
James Garner now sits in the middle of a wider emergency rather than a side note. Everton have moved from late-window exits to post-deadline repair work, and the next step is simple: find a free agent, complete the registration on time, and add enough depth to stop the squad from running on one senior option where it should have more.
