Everton's Disappointing Transfer Window: Balogun Deal Falls Through
David Moyes knows the feeling by now. The window slams shut, the phone stops buzzing, and the list of “almosts” looks longer than the list of signings.
This time, the Everton manager is left to “live with disappointments” after a deadline day that promised a reshaped attack and instead delivered a scramble, a collapse, and one brutal reminder of the club’s place in the food chain.
Balogun deal collapses at the last
The most painful twist came late. Everton thought they had Folarin Balogun.
A £40m agreement with Monaco was in place. The 25-year-old United States international had undergone a medical at Finch Farm. Both clubs even lodged a deal sheet before the 23:00 BST deadline to buy extra time to get everything signed off.
Then the move fell apart.
Issues flagged in the medical forced Everton and Monaco back to the table to renegotiate the original fee. As talks shifted, so did the player’s stance. Balogun changed his mind and walked away from the move entirely.
“It wasn't anyone's fault and ultimately it happens in football as the player had a problem in his medical and that was simply it,” Moyes said. “There are no other stories behind it. That is exactly what happened.”
Everton were left with nothing: no Balogun, no time, and a gaping hole where their primary late-window target was supposed to be.
Targets missed, one big name in, one bigger name out
Balogun was not the only forward they chased and missed.
With Beto already gone to Fiorentina on a permanent deal, the club pushed for further attacking options. Manchester United’s Joshua Zirkzee was explored. So was Aston Villa striker Tammy Abraham. Both were sounded out. Neither was convinced to make the move.
There was at least one marquee arrival. Jack Grealish joined on a season-long loan from Manchester City, a rare injection of elite creativity into Moyes’ squad.
But that deal came with a heavy price elsewhere.
Everton lost Iliman Ndiaye to City in a £65m transfer, surrendering one of their most important attackers. The Senegal international had become a key figure at Goodison Park, scoring 15 goals and providing four assists in 67 Premier League appearances for the club.
Moyes admitted the sale was, in part, about survival in the market.
“We were looking to get some money in,” he said. “We lost Iliman Ndiaye, which is someone who we definitely didn't want to lose, but sometimes it is difficult when the likes of Man City come along.”
That is the reality Everton are operating in: forced to sell a star to fund a rebuild, then watching that rebuild stall in the final hours.
Defensive frustration, modest reinforcement
The theme of near-misses did not stop up front.
At the back, Everton targeted Kenny Tete from Fulham to bolster their defensive options. The right-back fit the profile and the need. The deal never materialised. Fulham, unable to secure a suitable replacement in time, refused to let him go.
Everton did at least land one defender. Ainsley Maitland-Niles arrived from Lyon for £3m, adding versatility at right-back and across the pitch. It was a smart, low-cost move, but not the transformative signing many supporters hoped for.
Moyes cut a reflective figure as he surveyed the damage and the deals.
“I am disappointed that we didn't do more business and things didn't go our way in the end,” he admitted. “Sometimes in football you have to live with disappointments and move on, and we will.
“Some things went against us and some things we could have done better. Ultimately we didn't want to lose a lot of the different players but for reasons that had to happen.”
What’s left for Moyes
So Everton emerge from the window with Grealish in, Ndiaye out, Maitland-Niles added, Beto sold, and Balogun, Zirkzee and Abraham all filed under “what might have been”.
For Moyes, the task is clear and unforgiving: turn a patchwork of arrivals and departures into a functioning side, while the memory of a £40m striker walking away from Finch Farm on deadline night still hangs in the air.
