David Moyes likens TFG to Everton’s ‘new lover’ and says club needs tender care

David Moyes believes rebuilding the Everton squad will take more than just one transfer window with 13 players out of contract at the end of the season

David Moyes has described The Friedkin Group (TFG) as Everton’s “new lover”, with the club in need of tender care and serious action in the transfer market.

Moyes admits Everton remain in a delicate position despite the takeover by TFG and securing their Premier League status before the move to a new stadium at Bramley-Moore dock. With a high turnover of players guaranteed this summer, and profitability and sustainability rules still affecting the club, Moyes said there was uncertainty over how TFG will navigate its first summer transfer window as Everton’s owner.

“The difficult times are probably not all away yet,” the manager said. “We’ve got a new lover coming in and we have to make sure we like them and it all goes well. People have been brought in to do it before and it didn’t work [with Farhad Moshiri]. We need to hope that we can say: ‘This is how it should be going, this is what Everton are required to do and this is how we need to do it.’

“I think this club is a little bit different at times to other clubs, I really do. It’s got a huge challenge against a club in the city with it, it’s got an incredible fanbase, but it also needs tender care and we don’t want it to go amiss.”

Everton have 13 members of their first-team squad out of contract this summer, including loanees, and Moyes is aware it will be impossible to rebuild completely in one window. He knows who he wants to keep – “Yes, just about,” he said – but is waiting to discover how much the club can spend before finalising decisions on every player.

Moyes, who celebrated his 62nd birthday on Friday, said: “Things don’t happen quickly here [in the English transfer market] but we will have to give decisions very quickly on players. A lot is dependent on, can we get Joe Bloggs to come and sign? That’s what we are waiting on and that’s the point we are at. We obviously will keep some players but others might be released. We’re trying to get a balance of that. It will be very hard to change this in one window. In fact, it will be impossible just about. If you’ve got 11 or 12 coming out of contract, that is too much.”