​Everton’s exact summer budget remains something of a guessing game, though the list of names credibly linked to Hill Dickinson Stadium has been fairly modest. Hayden Hackney and Tyrique George have joined for a combined initial fee of £34.5m, while Merlin Rohl’s loan from Freiburg has been made permanent for around £18m. In total, around £52.5m has been spent so far, and only Hackney’s arrival marks a departure from last season’s squad. With Idrissa Gana Gueye’s contract expiring and Jack Grealish’s loan ending, Hackney will need to hit the Premier League running to ensure Everton do more than merely stand still.
Everton are expected to stay busy across the remainder of the window. A right-back, or perhaps two, remains the priority, with Djed Spence, Ben White, and Guela Doue the latest linked names capable of filling a long-standing problem position. Reports that Doue’s £40m asking price could be out of reach have sparked concerns about the club’s available funds to invest further.
Over the last five seasons, including this summer’s activity, Everton sit 15th in the Premier League for net spend. Only Aston Villa and Brighton, among ever-present top-flight teams, have invested less, on a net basis, in that five-year span. So, is there room for a signing that could genuinely raise the ceiling?
The Premier League’s new Squad Cost Ratio rules are a factor, but Everton is a club whose finances should be comparable to divisional peers who have not shied away from loosening the purse strings. The Toffees had the 10th-highest wage bill in the Premier League last season and rank 24th worldwide for revenue. In Deloitte’s Money League for 2024/25, Everton were 11th among English clubs, with revenues set to rise further following last season’s move into Hill Dickinson Stadium. With a solid spine in place, meaningful upgrades at right-back and at centre-forward could elevate this side, and a right-sided winger would be a welcome addition if we’re aiming high. If reasonable fees can be recouped for Dwight McNeil, Tim Iroegbunam, and Thierno Barry, there should be some room to maneuver for talent capable of transforming the team’s trajectory.
It’s worth noting that nearly every Premier League club, save one, has broken its transfer record more recently than Everton; the club’s most significant deal remains Gylfi Sigurdsson’s transfer nine years on, a figure dwarfed by many contemporaries, including Manchester United’s acquisition of Paul Pogba, which was a world-record fee at the time. It isn’t all about big-money moves, and Everton have shown they can invest without always hitting the mark. Value remains the guiding principle, but a genuine marquee signing would signal a clear intent from ownership—a necessary step to regain the trust of supporters who have waited patiently for demonstrable progress.