Everton Transfer Talk - Tete, Barry, etc.
- Spirit of The News
- Jun 28
- 10 min read
Now that the 2024/25 season is over and Goodison Park has had its fair share of farewells, all focus for the Toffees is shifted to the opportunities that can arise within this summer transfer window, as the men's first team will move into the Hill Dickinson Stadium come August. New owners, The Friedkin Group, who became majority shareholders of the club in December 2024, purchasing 99.5% of Everton from Farhad Moshiri, certainly have planned out a strong and prosperous future for the club as a whole, with action being taken as we speak…
Seamus Coleman:
On the 27th June, club legend Seamus Coleman put pen to paper, meaning the Irish fullback will stay at the club for one more year! Coleman joined the club in January 2009 for a small fee of £60,000 during David Moyes’ first spell at the club, moving from Sligo Rovers to the Blues. Over the last 17 years, the 36-year-old has played 428 times for Everton. Although as of late Coleman has struggled with injuries, meaning the fullback only played 5 times last season, one of them being the final game at Goodison Park, where the 36-year-old was forced off due to injury early on in the fixture.
Coleman has even been a part of managing Everton this season too! Sean Dyche’s sacking on the 9th January 2025, just hours before the Blues were set to host Peterborough in the 3rd round of the FA Cup, meant both Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman managed the side to a 2-0 victory, putting the Toffees into the hat for the next round.
Following the announcement of his contract extension, Coleman has spoken to the media, saying that:
"I love Everton so to continue playing for this special club means everything to me and my family. Like every one of our passionate fans, I've lived and breathed what has been a difficult past few years for the club and have put my heart and soul into doing all I can to help us get through it."
"Thanks to the hard work of many people, we've been able to get into our magnificent new stadium and pave the way for a brighter future under ambitious new owners, which I want to be part of. After a disappointing time with injuries last season, my focus will be on working hard, spending as much time on the pitch as possible, and helping Everton any way I can."
Furthermore, Everton manager David Moyes, who was the one who signed Coleman during his first time managing the club, stated that, “His leadership, his professionalism and his humanity are second to none. He's helped carry the club through some difficult periods in the past few years and his influence in the dressing room has been key to that.” The Scottish manager also added that, “He's had to deal with some really difficult injuries, too, but he has done that and still been able to help inspire inside the dressing room at the same time. This could be a period of real change at the club and I want somebody who can help deliver the messages of what it means to be an Everton footballer. Seamus has always done that and I know he will continue to do so as we move into a new era."
All Evertonians will be hoping Coleman can feature in Everton’s set of pre-season fixtures, possibly in the recently revealed Everton vs Roma double-fixture day! A few months ago, a friendly was organised and announced at Bramley Moore-Dock, where the Toffees would host Roma’s first team, with both clubs hoping to build a partnership to build on due to the Friedkin Group owning both of the teams, in preparation for both squads' campaigns in both the Premier League and Serie A. Now, a second match of the day has been announced, where Everton Legends will take on AS Roma Legends! The set of games at the Hill Dickinson Stadium is set to begin at 3pm, with the men’s first teams kicking off, then the legends game starting at 5:15pm. The confirmed capacity of 52,769 will be full, meaning all season ticket holders can sit in their seats!
It is obviously yet to be confirmed who will be taking part in Everton’s pre-season fixtures, with Accrington Stanley, Blackburn, Roma and the Premier League Summer Series in the USA between July 26th and August 3rd, where the Toffees will face Bournemouth, Manchester United and West Ham across three stadiums in New Jersey, Chicago and Atlanta, but both Gana Gueye and Jarrad Branthwaite are almost certain to be there, with the pair reportedly close to signing new deals at the club.
Jarrad Branthwaite:
Branthwaite has been a magnificent player for the Toffees yet again this season, and with top clubs being in for him with prices close to £80m, it would be a smart move to keep the player. Everton are now in discussions with the player and agent, with the club prepared to make the English defender the highest earner at the club and also the possibility of, in the future, becoming Everton captain. Moyes is determined to build around the 23-year-old, and giving the 6’4" centre back a new deal would mean fewer clubs would attempt to persuade Branthwaite into joining their club.
The Englishman joined the Toffees in January 2020, for a total fee reported to be in the region of £1,000,000. Since joining from Carlisle United, Branthwaite has played for the Blues 75 times, scoring 4 goals. The 23-year-old has been out on loan a couple of times now, featuring 10 times for Blackburn Rovers in 2021, followed by an impressive loan spell in the Dutch league, representing PSV Eindhoven 27 times during the 2022/23 season, scoring 2 goals, with the manager at the time, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, singing his praises in an interview with Coaches’ Voice, saying that, “I don’t have to introduce him to the public now because he’s doing fantastic at Everton. He had fantastic development in the season, especially in the second half. He showed great quality on and off the ball. The touches he has with the left and right in the build-up, but also defensively, the duels he was winning, and the pace he has.”
Although the exact details of the contract laid out on the table for Jarrad Branthwaite have not been revealed, the youngster’s current contract runs until 2027, with the option of an extra year available too. A fresh upgraded wage will be part of the deal, with Branthwaite reportedly on £35,000 per year according to Capology.
Gana Gueye:
Again, one of the players Evertonians will be hoping the club holds on to is defensive midfielder Idrissa Gana Gueye. The 35-year-old has had two spells at the club during his career. Gueye joined Everton from Aston Villa back in 2016 for a fee of £7,700,000. Impressive during his first spell, French giants PSG came in with a bid of £25,000,000 that could not be refused. Only a couple of years later, the Senegalese player returned back in 2022 for around £15,000,000. Gueye signed a new deal last year, only signing for a season, as his age may be a blockade in his development, where the midfielder would make £120,000 per week (according to Capology), with it set to expire at the end of the season (30th June 2025). Although the player has made it clear that he is set to sign a new contract, replying to a comment which consisted of a meme of Mike Tyson shouting “Sign the contract, big boy, sign the contract” with laughing emojis, it seems negotiations have been stalled over disagreement with the length of the deal.
It has been reported that the club would like to offer Idrissa Gana Gueye a one-year deal valid until the summer of 2026, whereas Gueye and his representatives would like another year on top of that! Negotiations are still taking place, and it is more than likely Gueye will be at the club next season.
The Men’s Player of the Season has been the first name on the team sheet this season, featuring 40 times in all competitions and only missing one Premier League fixture, which was a 1-1 draw at home against Leicester City in September.
Gueye picture
Kenny Tete:
Tete currently plays his football at Premier League side Fulham, mainly starting at right back. The Netherlands international featured 22 times last season for the London side, scoring twice. The 29-year-old’s contract with Fulham is set to expire at the end of this season, with both Fulham and Everton offering the individual contracts to join their club.
Per Fabrizio Romano, Everton have reached a verbal agreement to sign the fullback on a three-year contract; with minor details left, the signing can be fully confirmed. However, from many major tabloids this week, it has been revealed that Fulham have now offered Tete the opportunity to stay at the club instead, with a fresh new deal on the table for the player.
The Toffees are still hopeful of the deal getting over the line. However, the player could become easily persuaded with the opportunity of remaining in London. Tete has spent the last 5 years, from joining Lyon in 2020 for a fee in the region of £3.2m, playing a huge role in that area of the pitch. The Dutch fullback has racked up an impressive 121 appearances for Fulham, also claiming 4 goals and 10 assists during this time, showing how Kenny Tete’s destination is still up in the air.
Will the continuation of his current lifestyle lead to Tete staying at Fulham, or will the persuasion of a new stadium and large-scale ambition for the future at Everton make the player follow a different career path?
Although building the backline is a solid decision, the real issue that is obviously holding the club back from climbing multiple places is the attack. Not only did the Toffees have the third-worst number of goals from open play last season (25), just above Leicester (24) and Ipswich Town (18). Everton also had the worst shot conversion rate this season, with only 7.9% of shots hitting the back of the net — the lowest in the league — and the highest reliance on set pieces, with 35% of goals coming from them. Overall, this just proves the need to improve in front of goal, and the issue has been noticed and expressed by Moyes in many interviews with the media. Now transfer links are brewing, many of them from reliable sources — it is not a shock to see the club being associated with attacking players.
For starters, the club has confirmed that they will go ahead with the option-to-buy for Argentinian loanee Carlos Alcaraz, who impressed this season.
Carlos Alcaraz:
Since joining the club on loan from Flamengo in the January transfer window, Alcaraz has started a fair few games. Alcaraz has featured in 16 games for the Toffees in the second half of the season, scoring twice — leading to a 1-0 victory over Newcastle United on the final game of the Premier League season (not enough to ruin their UEFA Champions League dreams due to divergent results that day) and a 2-1 win away against Crystal Palace, early on in David Moyes’ reign!
Within the details of the contract, there was an obligation to buy if Alcaraz reached a certain number of starts — reportedly nine. Due to the fact Alcaraz reached this number of starts, the permanent signing of the attacking midfielder was confirmed, and a fee of around £15,000,000 has been reported. However, it is only a two-year deal, meaning perhaps Charly Alcaraz is not the perfect player for the future of the club — but from the 22-year-old’s class performances this season, the short length of the contract has come as a surprise to many!
Thierno Barry:
As the exit of Dominic Calvert-Lewin seems imminent, with the 28-year-old’s contract set to expire and the reliability and level of goalscoring ability of Portuguese striker Beto unsure as of yet, there is no surprise Everton have been highly linked to — and talks are taking place about — the possibility of a new striker entering the doors of Finch Farm.
Villarreal and France U21 striker Thierno Barry has been in talks with Everton regarding a possible transfer. Barry’s rapid rise to European football could continue soon — the 22-year-old could be making his move to the Toffees. Over the last three years, Barry has gone from playing in the fifth division of French football to being the main striker for Villarreal, being the force who allowed the club to qualify for Champions League football the season just gone.
Barry has only been at Villarreal since August 2024 and could be heading for a move elsewhere. The £12.7m signing lived up to expectations as the 6’5” player scored 11 goals this season for the team, being spoken about in similar discussions with players like Hugo Ekitike, Benjamin Sesko and Bradley Barcola — some set to be world-class footballers in the future. The persuasion tactics of the new stadium, ownership, manager and the agreement of regular playing time, with the opportunity to be Everton’s new number 9, may be enough to make the player move to Everton.
Barry has a release clause as part of his contract with Villarreal of £34,000,000, with the Toffees reportedly expressing their opinion on the price tag — stating it is too much. However, negotiations are taking place to lower the money involved, and with tabloids stating that Thierno Barry is interested in the move, it’s a huge possibility that the Toffees could have a new star signing on their hands!
Behind the scenes, TFG have been revamping the hierarchy of the football club as a whole in a pledge to have more professionals in different aspects of running a club, stabilising the operations of Everton as a whole.
By appointing new staff, TFG are doing so — and they have done just that! It seems the club are moving away from the traditional Director of Football model — with Kevin Thelwell occupying that role for the past few years, doing reasonably well under a tight budget and point deductions — and to a specialistic leadership system. A new Technical Director, Director of Scouting and Recruitment, Director of Football Strategy and Analytics, Head of Player Trading and CEO have been appointed.
Nick Cox, who is the current Academy Director at Manchester United, playing a role in producing incredible talents such as Kobbie Mainoo and Marcus Rashford, will take up the role of Technical Director, overseeing all the operations that occur on a daily basis within Finch Farm — such as taking care of facilities, player care, and academy involvement.
James Smith, who previously took up a role at Manchester United, will join the club from September as the Director of Scouting and Recruitment, in order to implement global recruitment strategies.
Chris Howarth, who currently works at Insight Sport (a company that has been bought by The Friedkin Group), will join the club as Director of Football Strategy and Analytics in order to improve the current state of the club’s data tools and analytics.
Nick Hammond, who has been a Director of Football at Reading, Technical Director at West Brom and Football Ops at Celtic, will join the club as Head of Player Trading. Recently involved with both Leeds and Newcastle United, Hammond’s experience across the football world will hopefully lead to great success in terms of transfers for the Blues in the future!
Finally, and perhaps the most important recruitment of all, is new CEO Angus Kinnear. Kinnear has been the CEO at Leeds United since 2017, playing a part in their promotion to the Premier League and change of ownership. During his time within the world of football, the 47-year-old has worked in different roles for both West Ham and Arsenal. Kinnear is set to oversee Everton’s business operations and long-term plans — which seem aspirational!
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