Everton’s transfer window: George the sole addition, but McNeil endures late twist

Deadline day ended in typical fashion for Everton — with a scramble to get deals over the line.

Late drama is nothing new at the Merseyside club, who required deal sheets to sign Merlin Rohl over the summer and to complete Carlos Alcaraz’s initial loan from Flamengo last January. The summer 2024 signing of Armando Broja, meanwhile, was only formally announced at 1.55am, nearly three hours after the window had shut.

Yet the final day of the January 2026 window proved to be the most dramatic for some time.

There was always confidence that a loan-with-option move for another Chelsea player, Tyrique George, would be completed — even if a deal sheet was needed before confirming the switch.

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The belief at Everton heading into deadline day was that the George deal was likely to be the only significant piece of business. While there was the possibility of a loan exit or two, with left-back Adam Aznou’s situation being discussed, high-profile departures did not seem to be on the cards.

So Crystal Palace’s late move for Dwight McNeil represented a late twist.

The south London club initially entered into negotiations anticipating the 26-year-old would cost around £10million-12million ($13.7m-16.4m). The negotiations that followed pushed up that price but, once their own sale of Jean-Philippe Mateta to Milan fell through, Palace pivoted to a loan with £20m obligation structure for the winger. Even then, the potential fee was deemed too far good to turn down for a player who will enter the final year of his deal this summer.

McNeil travelled to complete a medical, terms were thrashed out and a deal sheet was submitted. All seemed in order, with ample time left to complete the move. Then came the final cruel twist.

Palace’s paperwork to rubber-stamp the transfer never arrived. That was the first indication both to the player and Everton that all was not right. And at that stage, it was already too late. It was only through their lack of communication that it became apparent Palace did not intend to proceed.

Dwight McNeil saw a late move to Crystal Palace fall throughAlex Livesey/Getty Images

The series of events has left a sour taste in the mouth on Merseyside and McNeil devastated.

“Even now I’m still in the dark,” he wrote on social media in the early hours of Tuesday morning. That was in response to a post from his partner Megan who described the “cruel” way in which the move had been “torn away at the last second, with no explanation”.

Everton have missed out on a remarkable fee for a fringe player with just 18 months left of his contract. McNeil, meanwhile, is in limbo, left to pick up the pieces and plot a new way forward.

That was the jarring final chapter of an otherwise low-key window for Everton.

The information found within this article has been gathered according to The Athletic’s sourcing guidelines. Sources with knowledge of transfer dealings, who asked to be kept anonymous to protect relationships, have been spoken to before offering the clubs involved the opportunity to comment.

Was this window a success or a failure?

As The Athletic detailed at the start of the month, Everton did not expect to be busy in the January window, preferring where possible to keep their powder dry until the summer.

There is some sense in that approach. Prices are inflated in January and, as Everton found, many top targets are often unobtainable.

The focus at the start of the window was on the right-back and striking positions, with targets subsequently pursued in both areas. But in the end, the club did not strengthen in either position.

A new winger was not part of the original plan but Jack Grealish’s injury, which is expected to keep the winger out for the rest of the season, was a late curveball. That became the focus in the final weeks of the window, with George completing a deadline-day move.

Everton have not markedly improved their squad via their transfer business. But Moyes has at least been boosted by the return of a host of key players, including Jarrad Branthwaite, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Africa Cup of Nations winners Iliman Ndiaye and Idrissa Gueye, in recent weeks.

Tyrique George has found opportunities limited at ChelseaHarry Langer/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images

Were there any deals they wanted to do that they didn’t get over the line?

Everton wanted a new striker to provide more competition for Thierno Barry. They had gone into the season expecting Beto to take a significant proportion of the game time, allowing them to ease Barry in. But Beto’s unexpected struggles increased the burden on the Frenchman, a summer signing from Villarreal, and prompted them to look for an alternative.

Everton felt they were in pole position to sign Callum Wilson on a free transfer, having been working on the assumption that his contract would be ripped up, but West Ham blocked his exit after his late winner at Tottenham Hotspur in mid-January.

Youssef En-Nesyri, a former Moyes target at West Ham, was also deemed to be one of the few available strikers of requisite quality. He, though, believed he had better options, both from Italy and Saudi Arabia, and had targeted a permanent switch from Fenerbahce.

Tammy Abraham was sounded out over a potential move, but quickly made it clear he favoured a return to Aston Villa.

Had one of those deals come off, the scope would have been there to let Beto leave. The Guinea-Bissau international had interest from Italy and Turkey — Juventus made a late loan enquiry — but Everton were unwilling to sanction a switch without sourcing a replacement. The message to interested parties in recent weeks was that Beto was going nowhere.

Strasbourg’s Guela Doue and Genoa’s Brooke Norton-Cuffy featured high on their list at right-back. But Doue was not readily available, with Strasbourg having recently lost Liam Rosenior as manager, and it was felt Norton-Cuffy was more likely to end up at a top Italian club. David Moyes sets the bar high when it comes to assessing right-back targets and Jake O’Brien has earned the manager’s faith in a makeshift role.

A late move for Raheem Sterling, a free agent after his exit from Chelsea, was considered prior to the signing of George, but the expectation is that he will sign a longer-term deal, on higher wages, elsewhere.

Everton did secure midfielder James Garner on a new, long-term deal after protracted negotiations. The midfielder was admired by a number of Premier League clubs, including Aston Villa, and wanted a raise to bring him into the bracket of top earners. Despite knowledge of that interest, the 24-year-old had always prioritised a new deal at Everton.

A significant early offer from Ipswich Town was rebuffed for Tim Iroegbunam, who also attracted enquiries from Italian clubs including Lazio.

Sources on Merseyside suggest fees in the region of £15million were rejected for the midfielder, with Everton valuing him even higher.

As with other fringe players, like Nathan Patterson and Beto, they were unwilling to weaken an already threadbare squad. Patterson had late interest from Genoa, but a deal was always contingent on Norton-Cuffy leaving the Italian club and Everton sourcing a replacement.

Are there still any obvious gaps in the team? And do they have the squad to achieve their goals for the season?

Yes, there are still obvious gaps in Moyes’ squad. Everton lack attacking quality in both full-back positions, while the Scot will still need convincing of Barry and Beto’s ability to lead the line long-term.

Moyes and his players have spoken about a desire to push for Europe this season.

At the time of writing, Everton are very much still in the race — they are six points off fifth-placed Chelsea and just two behind seventh-placed Brentford — but sustaining their push without Grealish and full-back additions will be a challenge.

Will Moyes be happy?

You get the sense Moyes is rarely content and always pushing for more. He will no doubt be pleased to get the George deal over the line, but has spoken about the void left by Grealish. Replacing his impact will not be easy.

Moyes knows this is still a squad with limitations in key areas, but will push them to maintain their challenge for Europe.

What will their priority be in the summer?

Everton are expected to revisit their long search for a new right-back in the summer. It would be no surprise at this stage if they returned for either Doue or Norton-Cuffy, while the left-back position should also be a focus.

Vitalii Mykolenko’s contract expires at the end of the season and, while his long-term future at the club may be uncertain, there is a decent chance Everton exercise their option to extend his deal by a further year in an attempt to protect his value.

The striker and wing positions are also likely to be reassessed over summer.

Will they have money to spend?

That is certainly the plan. The belief at the end of last season was that it would take two or three windows of summer spending to get the squad where it needs to be.

One of Everton’s priorities in January was avoiding costly mistakes and ensuring they have enough scope to do just that. Another push is expected next summer.

What is their strongest XI now the window is shut?

I’ll go with what I think Moyes believes is currently his strongest lineup.

(4-2-3-1): Pickford; O’Brien, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Garner, Gueye; Armstrong, Dewsbury-Hall, Ndiaye; Barry.

The full list of ins and outs

IN
George (loan with option, Chelsea)

OUT
None