The year 2025 is likely to be a great step into the unknown for Everton.
After years of financial turmoil, The Friedkin Group’s (TFG) impending takeover offers a much-needed chance of renewal — and increased investment in a club that has been crying out for fresh resources.
So what will the new year bring? What are Everton likely to spend in January? And what do they plan to do about a squad that has 13 players out of contract this summer?
The Athletic takes a look at their transfer plans for 2025.
Who will make the key decisions over the two windows?
Long-term, that is still very much up for grabs. Manager Sean Dyche and director of football Kevin Thelwell, two influential figures in the recruitment process, are both out of contract at the end of the season and awaiting clarity on their future.
Provided its takeover is approved, TFG is expected to make immediate and significant changes at boardroom level. So where Everton go post-January from a strategy and personnel perspective is still anyone’s guess.
In the meantime, the club will prepare as usual for the widows ahead.
With an interim board and wantaway owner in Farhad Moshiri still in situ, Thelwell remains a key part of the decision-making process.
Head of recruitment Dan Purdy is another key figure behind the scenes. Purdy is tasked with ensuring his scouting department unearths a steady stream of high-potential players with resale value. Past signings have also needed Dyche’s buy-in.
What moves have they made already?
Put bluntly, none.
Everton remain in a state of stasis during the takeover approval process, with most big decisions on hold. While that could eventually be a game-changer after years of enforced austerity, for now they will have to continue to tread carefully.
The problem is this: after kicking the can down the road window after window, the to-do list for 2025 is mounting — and already pretty daunting.
What sort of budget do they have?
That is still very much TBC while the takeover is pending. Are you sensing a pattern here?
There is the promise of much-needed investment under TFG, but, for now, the purse strings at Goodison are every bit as tight as before.
Expect more of the same until the takeover is completed, with Everton focusing on the loan market, budget fees and structured deals where payments are deferred.
Which players’ contracts are expiring? Who is expected to renew?
How long have you got?
The Athletic reported over the summer that Everton currently have just 12 senior players contracted for next season.
Including their four loan signings Jack Harrison, Orel Mangala, Jesper Lindstrom and Armando Broja, 13 players will be out of contract at the end of this campaign.
Of those loanees, only Lindstrom and Broja have purchase options, while Everton possess the right to extend the deals of second-choice goalkeeper Joao Virginia and midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure by a further 12 months.
Let’s start with some of the easier ones. Mason Holgate, currently on loan at West Brom, is way down the pecking order and will leave when his deal expires at the end of June. Veterans Asmir Begovic (37), Seamus Coleman (36) and Ashley Young (39) are all coming towards the end of their time at the top level, although Young has already said he would like to keep playing.
Defender Michael Keane is one of the club’s highest earners and unlikely to be offered a comparable deal. With no new offer as yet forthcoming, he will also need to decide if he wants to move elsewhere in search of more regular football.
Decisions need to be made over Idrissa Gueye, who will be 36 at the start of next season but is still Everton’s most consistent performer in midfield, and Doucoure.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s future remains up in the air. The striker was offered fresh terms last summer but has yet to show a willingness to re-sign. Everton remain keen to tie him down on a new deal, but he will be able to explore pre-contract options elsewhere from January.
Broja has been a long-time favourite of the Everton recruitment team but will need to get fit and prove his worth to convince them to make the move permanent. And while there has previously been interest in securing Harrison on a longer deal, most big decisions will have to wait for a while longer.
What positions will they be looking at in 2025?
Given the amount of players out of contract, Everton know they will need to look for reinforcements in just about every position.
Although some sort of January business cannot be discounted, the bulk of the upheaval will almost certainly come in summer.
But full-back, central midfield and the wings are already three particular areas of interest.
Are there any players they are already looking at?
As at other clubs, recruitment is a 365-day-a-year operation at Everton, with scouts added in South America, southern Europe and Scandinavia over the past 12 months.
The club have had long-standing interest in Leeds United’s Wilfried Gnonto and Strasbourg attacking midfielder Habib Diarra.
What is their PSR position?
On the face of it, by no means as bad as it was between 2021 and 2023 when they breached the regulations twice.
Everton felt that the sales of Ben Godfrey and Lewis Dobbin to Atalanta and Aston Villa respectively over the summer helped them achieve compliance last season.
Losses remain high though, predominantly because of their sizeable staff costs and interest payments, so they will need to continue to balance incomings with outgoings.
There is also still the considerable matter of an outstanding PSR complaint from the Premier League relating to the capitalisation of interest costs in Everton’s previous accounts. Lose that and they would have new holes to plug.
Who will they be looking to sell?
With so many players out of contract, Everton will likely be keen to retain most of the other senior players on their books.
There is an expectation Jarrad Branthwaite will attract interest in upcoming windows after Manchester United’s unsuccessful pursuit over the summer, but Everton’s asking price remains sky-high for their prized asset.
Jake O’Brien has been the subject of loan interest, particularly from France after his time with Lyon, while young striker Youssef Chermiti might be allowed to leave temporarily if his path to minutes is blocked.
(Top photos: Getty Images)
