Everton's threadbare squad exposed in Chelsea defeat

PATRICK BOYLAND, The Athletic

“The smallest squad photo ever seen” was one of the more eye-catching social media reactions to Everton’s official 2026-27 team photo.

Released last month following a bruising end to the summer transfer window, it showed a group of just 21 players, including a mere 18 outfielders. Among them was only one senior striker in Thierno Barry and one natural left-back in Vitalii Mykolenko. Next to him stood Ainsley Maitland-Niles, a late £4million acquisition at right-back from Lyon. The versatile Merlin Rohl, currently being converted into a full-back, offers cover in the position, though he remains very much a stopgap solution.

Even setting aside hyperbole, it is hard to recall a more threadbare squad in the Premier League era. Chelsea, Everton’s opponents on Saturday, assembled 26 players for their official team photograph, excluding their vast stable of loanees. Newly promoted Hull City boast the largest squad in the division with 33 players.

By any metric, Everton possess the leanest squad in the top flight. Transfermarkt data places them three players lighter than Leeds United, Nottingham Forest and others. Manager David Moyes undeniably has quality at his disposal — Jordan Pickford, Jarrad Branthwaite and James Garner were all included in the latest England squad — but depth is dangerously thin.

That lack of depth always made Everton's strong start to the season — going eight games unbeaten in all competitions before Saturday's 2-0 home defeat to Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea — feel difficult to sustain over the long haul.

Moyes and his squad deserve credit for that positive run, but there was a lingering sense prior to Saturday that they had yet to hit top gear. A relatively kind fixture list helped, making Chelsea by far their sternest examination of the campaign to date.

Everton failed that test. Once Pedro Neto broke the deadlock just 43 seconds into the second half, the hosts never looked capable of mounting a convincing response. Their toothless reaction laid bare the squad's underlying flaws.

Much has been written about how the summer window unraveled. The Friedkin Group came in for criticism over a perceived lack of late investment, with Everton operating like a club constrained by tight financial realities, reliant on quick sales before sanctioning fresh incomings.

Sources within the club maintain that the landscape shifted late in the window and that Everton were only two or three quality additions away from a successful summer. Had they secured primary right-back target Guela Doue and striker Folarin Balogun, alongside specialist left-back cover, Moyes' squad would be in a far stronger position to build on this season.

Doue, however, was always viewed as financially out of reach, eventually sealing a move to Bayer Leverkusen for a fee reported to be worth €37m (£31.2m). Balogun then pulled out of a £45m deal on deadline day, leaving Everton in a bind.

After assessing more than a dozen alternatives at right-back, Everton opted for a budget solution in Maitland-Niles just before the deadline. His start at Goodison Park has been mixed. While the former Arsenal man netted a stunning equalizer on his debut against Manchester United, he has also been partly culpable for three of Everton's last four goals conceded — including Neto’s strike, where Jorrel Hato bypassed him with ease.

Everton appear to be paying the price for cutting corners in an area that desperately needed reinforcement. This was the second game in a row where Maitland-Niles was substituted early, with Rohl replacing him at right-back on 55 minutes.

Before Rohl’s injury last month, Everton expected him to earn a senior Germany call-up and believe he can still establish himself in the national team in his new role. Yet he remains on a steep learning curve at full-back. Tellingly, Moyes made the tactical switch once again and admitted in his post-match press conference that Rohl “did better” once moved to the back line.

Meanwhile, Mykolenko's absence last weekend forced an unwelcome reshuffle, pushing Jarrad Branthwaite away from his preferred central defensive berth. That disrupted the balance on the left flank. A lack of attacking thrust from deep has hampered Everton both when chasing games and when trying to break down stubborn, low blocks.

Moyes has more options in midfield, but neither James Garner — Everton’s Player of the Season for 2025-26 — nor summer signing Christian Norgaard managed a full pre-season. Garner was sidelined by a hernia problem, while Norgaard struggled with an Achilles issue, and their lack of match sharpness has shown.

The Everton manager admitted Norgaard looked off the pace during his brief cameo against Chelsea, though he stressed the Dane needs minutes to regain form. It was Norgaard who conceded the free-kick that led to Chelsea’s second goal.

Then there is Barry. The striker is already within two of his eight-goal tally from last season, yet he has never been renowned as a clinical finisher. Ahead of Saturday, he had missed more big chances than anyone else in the Premier League. Against Chelsea, he squandered Everton’s solitary clear-cut opening, heading straight at Emiliano Martinez despite being unmarked. Barry cannot be expected to shoulder the entire scoring burden alone.

Elsewhere, other areas of the squad remain underused, particularly out wide. Moyes acknowledged Tyrique George was unfortunate to lose his starting place after a bright start to the campaign, while he praised Tyler Dibling again on Friday. Midfielder Hayden Hackney also started well before falling out of favour.

Only George saw action off the bench on Saturday. Moyes has insisted all three will be integrated gradually. He explained that Rohl was originally deployed wide to neutralize Chelsea's Pep Chavarria, who ultimately did not even feature.

Few, if any, of Everton's substitutions made an impact. Nor was there any clear tactical shift or change in shape as the home side struggled in vain to find a way back into the match.

Ultimately, Everton looked like a side wielding a blunt instrument — ill-equipped for the task at hand.

There will inevitably be more difficult afternoons like this for an Everton squad crying out for January reinforcements. Moyes can only hope they are few and far between.

Photo 2: AI