Everton’s preparations for the 2026/27 season have now begun – and the next few weeks will be vital for David Moyes.
The Toffees ended the 2025/26 season dreadfully, and fans want to see the team start well.
David Moyes doesn’t have all his players at the moment, with the likes of Iliman Ndiaye, Nathan Patterson and Jordan Pickford not back yet after the World Cup.
Absolutely love this! A real classy kit for the Toffees… 🤩
Which of the two new kits are you preferring? 🤔
But there are still plenty of players to work with – and this is undoubtedly a time for Moyes to be trying different things.
Against Dundee on Saturday, we saw Merlin Rohl play at right-back, which is perhaps not something many fans will get behind. Even though he did well.
We also saw Jake O’Brien play in central defence, which many fans have long been clamouring for. He also did very well.
But here are a few other things Moyes ought to consider.
Thierno Barry and Beto strike partnership
Last season Moyes pretty much only played with one striker.
Beto and Thierno Barry were the two options, and seemingly they both will be again, with talk of a new striker coming in having died down.
While it was one or the other last season, perhaps Moyes could finally unleash them as a pairing at points in 2026/27.
They are a little similar, but both can be handfuls given their physicality.
If Everton can improve their chance creation rate, and get that ball into the box more often, then having both Beto and Barry in there at the same time could work.
Perhaps it’s not something to be rolled out regularly.
But it surely couldn’t harm to use them as a pairing in pre-season just to see how, and if, it works.
Use Adam Aznou as a winger
Fans were dismayed to see how little Adam Aznou was used last season.
The youngster made just one appearance, which was a cameo against Sunderland in the FA Cup in January.
Moyes is absolutely wedded to Vitalii Mykolenko, with the Scot having not been fully trusting of Aznou. Potentially because he does lack physicality.
But Aznou was very lively against Dundee on Saturday, and we also saw that against Sunderland.
He likes to get forward and cause problems, so it would surely be in the manager’s interests to get him playing as a winger at points in pre-season.
It feels like he needs to be given more of a chance to succeed, and perhaps his future can still lie at Everton, but further up the pitch.
Aznou himself stated shortly after joining that his one-vs-one dribbling was one of his best attributes, so it would be nice to see him finally show that.
Tyrique George at right wing
Tyrique George played on the left against Dundee, which is where we mostly saw him during his loan last season.
Clearly it’s his most comfortable area of operation, as he is comfortable driving on the outside of his full-back or cutting inside and shooting.
But Moyes also needs to be trying him on the right side in these pre-season matches.
Because Iliman Ndiaye will be returning soon and he is arguably better on the left than he is on the right.
Everton’s fixtures for 2026/27 have been released! What immediately caught your eye about them? 🤩
But there is also the possibility of Jack Grealish coming back, and he almost exclusively plays on the left, so that would mean fewer starting opportunities for George.
And then there’s Dwight McNeil, who has been linked with an exit from Everton this summer.
If he does, then that’s one less option to play on the right side – Moyes would only have Tyler Dibling. So George needs a few run-outs on that side in anticipation of things happening with Grealish and McNeil
Receive a digest of our best Everton content each week direct to your mailbox
