Everton's Transfer Strategy: Focus on Franculino and Key Positions

Everton’s start to the season has been sharp. So has their thinking.

A 2-0 win over Crystal Palace has not dulled the club’s transfer appetite; it has refined it. Behind the scenes, the pace has quickened. David Moyes is not treating a positive opening as a comfort blanket. He is treating it as a platform.

According to TeamTalk, Everton are preparing a late, multi-pronged push in the market, with a striker, right-back, left-back and centre-back all being actively pursued. Four positions, one clear message: Goodison Park is not standing still.

Franculino at the heart of the plan

The headline name is Franculino.

Everton have tracked the Midtjylland forward for a long time and have now, as the report puts it, “held fresh talks with the agents of Midtjylland striker Franculino, whom they have scouted extensively.” That wording matters. This is not a last-week-of-August panic dart at a random name. It suggests months of work, files already thick with detail.

The numbers jump off the page. Franculino has “notched an impressive 58 goals in 115 games for Midtjylland” and is now “fully fit again and is open to a move to the Premier League” after an earlier move was disrupted by injury. TeamTalk claims “€25million (£21.4m / $29.2m) could be enough to sign him this summer”, though Newcastle are also credited with interest.

Everton’s push for a striker is tied directly to Beto. The club are “anticipating offers for Beto ahead of the deadline”, but there is a firm red line: they “would not allow him to leave without first lining up a replacement.” That stance frames the Franculino interest. It also explains why Burnley’s Zian Flemming has been considered and why Richarlison’s name has reappeared, with the report stating: “The Brazilian would jump at the chance to re-join his former club, with Tottenham considering a sale.”

If Beto goes, Everton want someone who feels like a step forward, not a stop-gap.

Right-back: the long-running priority

One position has sat near the top of Everton’s internal agenda for months: right-back. That has not changed.

TeamTalk is blunt: “one of Everton's top priorities is to sign a new right-back, and the situation remains the same.” Strasbourg’s Guela Doue has been the preferred choice for some time, and Everton “have made multiple approaches for the Ivorian international.” The problem? The player has been “holding out for a move to a Champions League club.”

Now Paris Saint-Germain are mentioned as a possible destination. That shifts the landscape. If PSG move, the race is effectively over. If they hesitate, Everton must decide how long they are willing to wait for a player whose eyes are fixed on a different stage.

So attention turns to Daniel Munoz. The Crystal Palace defender “remains under serious consideration” and is said to be valued at around £25million, with Palace open to offers. Munoz would not be a speculative project. He would arrive as a ready-made Premier League full-back, the kind of signing that can change the tone of a back line overnight.

The urgency here is obvious. Everton have known this is a weak spot. They cannot afford to drift into autumn still debating their first-choice right-back.

Full-backs and balance

On the opposite flank, the logic is simpler but just as important. Everton are looking for a left-back, with Nice defender Melvin Bard among those assessed. The aim is to give Vitaliy Mykolenko real competition and to bring better balance to a squad that faces a demanding season.

This is not about glamour. It is about depth. Too many Everton campaigns have sagged by October because the bench looked thin and the options predictable. A credible challenger at left-back is the sort of detail that can prevent that familiar slide.

Centre-back hinges on exits

At centre-back, the situation is more fluid. Movement in will likely depend on movement out.

TeamTalk reports that Everton “look set to make a late move for a new centre-back, due to the fact that Jake O'Brien could leave before the deadline.” The stance mirrors the Beto situation: “they would not let him go without signing a replacement.” Leeds United, Crystal Palace and Sunderland are all mentioned as potential destinations for O’Brien.

So the final days of the window could see a chain reaction. If O’Brien departs, a new central defender follows. If he stays, Everton may hold their position and keep their powder dry.

A plan, not a scramble

What stands out is the shape of the strategy. This is not the familiar late-window scramble, lurching from one fire to the next. It looks like a club trying to stay disciplined while staying alive to opportunity and risk.

A striker who can grow with the team. Two full-backs to raise the floor and the ceiling. A centre-back to protect against departures. The outline of Moyes’ thinking is clear: more reliability, more athleticism, more internal competition.

Franculino is the intriguing pivot point. “58 goals in 115 games” is the kind of record that usually prices a player out of Everton’s reach. If the quoted £21.4m fee is accurate, it feels like the sort of calculated gamble they cannot ignore. Young, productive, and with obvious room to grow, he fits the profile of a club trying to build, not just survive.

The right-back chase, though, may define the mood. If Guela Doue is waiting for the Champions League, Everton cannot afford to be passengers in someone else’s story. Munoz, at £25million, is not cheap, but he is proven. That kind of decisiveness would send a message inside the dressing room as much as outside it.

Everton have given themselves a platform with their early results. Now comes the harder part: turning a promising start into a stronger squad. By the time the window slams shut, we will know if this is the summer Moyes truly bends the squad into his image, or another one where Everton are left wondering what might have been.