It’s a busy day at Everton, with Merlin Rohl the second player to turn his loan move to the club permanent.
Earlier today, Everton announced the permanent signing of Tyrique George from Chelsea.
The winger has come in for an initial £18 million, with a potential £6 million coming in via add-ons later down the line.
Merlin Rohl officially joins Everton permanently! 🚨 Happy, Everton fans? How do you see him fitting in best?
He has strong competition for minutes in midfield with the likes of Garner, Hackney and KDH… 🤔
The deals follow Everton landing Hayden Hackney from Middlesbrough last week, and fans are starting to grow optimistic about the season ahead, with The Friedkin Group and Toffees officials showing impressive efficiency.
The Rohl signing had been expected because his buy option was thought to turn into an obligation if Everton stayed up.
Now he’ll hope to kick on, but he needs to be helped by David Moyes.
David Moyes must resist using Merlin Rohl out wide for Everton
Rohl had a very interesting first season at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
He struggled to really make an impression in the first half of the campaign, with opportunities difficult to come by due to the form of James Garner, Idrissa Gueye and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
But Rohl put in an outstanding performance against Aston Villa in January, and fans then hoped that could be a bit of a catalyst for him.
It actually proved to be the opposite, with Moyes then bizarrely benching him for a couple of months.
He then threw him into a game against Manchester City, where he played out wide. Arguably, he was Everton’s best player in the 3-3 draw at the Etihad.
| Merlin Rohl for Everton during 2025/26 loan |
| Appearances – 17 |
| Minutes played – 764 |
| Goals – 1 |
| Assists – 0 |
We then saw Rohl get a few more outings out wide, where he wasn’t so effective.
Now that he’s a permanent player, it is paramount that Moyes gives him a chance to develop in his natural position, which is as a box-to-box midfielder.
He is blessed with brilliant pace, which means there will always be a temptation for Moyes to stick him out wide.
But this should only really be done as a last resort, because we saw that he wasn’t consistent in the position.
Rohl’s pace could be used to address a problem Everton have had, which is getting the ball forward quickly through midfield.
Garner has the passing, but it would be fantastic to have some pure pace and athleticism in there, and someone capable of carrying the ball.
Of course, the Toffees have just signed Hayden Hackney who can probably bring this quality as well.
But really, Moyes should refrain from shoehorning him out wide this season.
Pre-season is going to be really important, and hopefully Rohl can show the manager what an effective eight he can be.
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