David Moyes arrived at Friday’s press conference sounding like a man trying to keep two plates spinning at once: Everton’s push up the table on the one hand, and a squad stretched thin by injuries and absences on the other.
The headline on availability was blunt. No one is back this week and Moyes said he cannot put a clear timeframe on when several injured players will return. That uncertainty is shaping everything, from training loads to selection. There were at least two glints of encouragement, with Jarrad Branthwaite and Seamus Coleman back in training, but Moyes was careful not to dress that up as instant solutions.
On recruitment, the message was just as direct. Moyes said Everton do need to do business if they can, particularly because January has brought extra knocks that have left the group “a wee bit more wobbly” than he would like. He stressed the club are planning to try, but he also sounded unconvinced the market will cooperate. There are not many deals being done across the league, he said, and it is easy to speak in names until you get into the reality: players who do not fit, cannot be got, cost too much, or simply will not come. Everton are still looking, still working, but he admitted he is not sure anything will happen.
Moyes also offered clarity on how transfers actually land. He has the final say, but he is working off the number he is given. He referenced comments from the club’s leadership in the matchday programme, and repeated that Everton are not taking anyone “for the hell of it”. The subtext was obvious: Everton want quality, but quality has a price, and Everton’s shopping list must match the till.
Even with the noise around January, Moyes insisted the ambitions have not changed. He said he does not speak regularly with the Friedkin ownership, but nothing has shifted from his point of view. Everton have to “charge on” and keep pushing for the highest position they can, even while he acknowledged how tough it is with what is currently available. The table offers temptation too. Moyes pointed to how close Everton are to the European conversation, saying they are still in a great position after a strong start, but adding that they want to be higher. The catch is the one he kept returning to: Everton do not have the strongest squad, and right now the squad is thinner than planned.
That thinness is being amplified by AFCON. Moyes said January was always going to be difficult because of the tournament and he sounded genuinely thrilled that Senegal have reached the final. He has not spoken to the players, he said, but they know Everton will be watching. His joke came with a manager’s edge: if they win, he hopes they do not celebrate for too long, because Everton will need them back sharp.
The absence of Iliman Ndiaye is another hole Everton can feel. Moyes dismissed talk that Everton have knocked back a bid for him, insisting there is no way that has happened. He made it clear Ndiaye is key to Everton’s plans and the club have no intention of letting him go, while also acknowledging the universal truth that there is a price for every player on the planet. What Everton are missing right now, Moyes said in effect, is Ndiaye’s creative spark and the moments he can conjure.
Coleman’s name brought warmth as well as caution. Moyes said the captain is stepping up his training and remains a huge presence around the squad, praising his loyalty and what he gives beyond the pitch. But he also admitted Coleman has been plagued by injuries in recent seasons, which has made everything more difficult. Everton will take his influence, but they need his body to cooperate too.
There was also a clear line drawn on discipline. Asked about a player returning this weekend after a red card, Moyes confirmed he has trained fine but was adamant Everton did not let it slide. Moyes said he told the player exactly what he thought, and the dressing room had its say as well. He called the sending-off stupid and criticised the decision to applaud the referee, even while hinting at wider frustration over inconsistency elsewhere.
Up front, the spotlight swung back to Tierno Barry, and Moyes offered context for why Everton moved early for a young striker rather than waiting for a more established name. Everton did not have the funds to go and buy a centre-forward at the top end of the market, Moyes explained, so they went early on potential. He spoke about Barry’s physicality, his aerial strength, his willingness to run and work without the ball, and the idea that his scoring season in Spain made him a gamble worth taking while he was still attainable. Moyes asked for a degree of patience with a first-year Premier League striker arriving from overseas, but he also said Everton need him to step up.
At the other end, Moyes acknowledged how the defensive options have narrowed. He said Jarrad is back on the grass and could benefit from under-21 minutes to build rhythm, but Everton’s shortage may not allow much of a runway. With Michael Keane currently out, Moyes noted how well Keane has played this season and how losing him strips away options in multiple positions, forcing Everton to think twice about where they can move players without leaving another area exposed.
Moyes also touched on youth, naming Braiden Graham as someone doing well and benefitting from being around the first-team environment. He said Everton want young players to feel that atmosphere, but he was clear that what the squad really needs is senior bodies returning. Moyes backed up his history of trusting teenagers, saying he has given 16-year-olds debuts more than any Premier League manager, but he added that the league has changed and the step up is enormous now, which is why throwing kids in is never as simple as it sounds.
All of that sets the scene for Sunday at Villa Park. Moyes expects a proper test, praising Aston Villa’s progress over recent seasons and describing their league position as evidence of both quality and an excellent manager. Since the goalless draw between these sides earlier in the campaign, Moyes said Villa have been excellent, and he expects threats from everywhere. The message was not fear, it was focus: Villa are in form, it is a great stadium, and Everton will need to be sharp in every department to come away with something.
So Everton head to Birmingham with the same January story still being written: a team close enough to the top places to believe, short enough on depth to suffer, and driven by a manager who is openly asking for reinforcements while refusing to let the season drift while he waits.
