Everton have enjoyed a decent start to the summer with three deals being completed so far.
Hayden Hackney arrived at Everton as the first addition of the summer.
Everton then turned the loan moves of both Tyrique George and Merlin Rohl permanent, renegotiating with Chelsea on the George deal.
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It’s expected, and hoped, that several more signings will be made before Everton’s first Premier League game of the season against Crystal Palace on August 22.
And quite possibly, we could see a starting XI that has a number of new faces.
But what is actually the most new signings we’ve ever seen in an opening-day Everton XI?
Everton’s record for most new signings starting in a first Premier League
Everton’s own record for the most number of new signings in a first starting XI of a Premier League season is five.
This happened in the 1998/1999 season for the opening fixture with Aston Villa, with Walter Smith having just succeeded Howard Kendall.
The players in question were:
- John Collins (Signed from Monaco)
- Olivier Dacourt (Signed from RC Strasbourg)
- Marco Materazzi (Signed from Perugia)
- Alec Cleland (Signed from Rangers)
Everton also signed David Pembridge that summer, but he did not start the game, coming on as a substitute instead.
The spoils were shared at Goodison Park, with neither team able to score and new signing John Collins missing a penalty.
Other players who came in for Everton that summer included Ibrahima Bakayoko and Steve Simonsen.
Unsworth actually came back to Everton after his transfer to Aston Villa from West Ham United didn’t work out. He and his family failed to settle, and he sealed a return to Goodison Park without actually even playing for Villa. He was still technically a new signing for Everton though that summer.
Everton then fielded four new signings in a first Premier League in 2002 vs Tottenham Hotspur (Richard Wright, Joseph Yobo, Rodrigo and Kevin Campbell, who had just become permanent; Li Tie came off the bench).
Everton could equal or break their new signings record for opening day XI in 26/27
It is not out of the question that Everton could be starting with at least five new faces against Palace.
Hackney is in, and Everton are highly likely to sign a right-back.
George will technically count as a new permanent signing, as will Rohl – perhaps the pair may also find themselves getting an early show of faith from Moyes.
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