The Pre-Season Finale - Everton vs Roma ft. Legends!

Spirit of The News
2 days ago
4 min read

The final pre-season test for the Toffees is against Roma at Hill Dickinson Stadium, with a sold-out crowd for the first time ever. Following the end of the game, a secondary game will occur for all the supporters in the crowd to watch, where Everton Legends play against Roma Legends.

Both clubs met last year at Goodison Park in a friendly, with the game finishing 1-1, with goals from Lorenzo Pellegrini, for the Serie A giants, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who has now left the club following the expiry of his deal, with the 28-year-old still searching for a new team to join for the upcoming campaign, with Leeds set to make a move for the Englishman; however, the wage demands were unrealistic. The sister clubs will definitely be involved with each other in club friendlies, and possibly transfer deals too, in the future, as both clubs are owned by The Friedkin Group.

@friedkingroup on X:

Tomorrow, August 9, @Everton hosts @OfficialASRoma two clubs united under The Friedkin Group, for a special pre-season friendly at the new Hill Dickinson Stadium in the heart of Liverpool. A double-header to remember. One stadium. Two matches. Infinite memories.

The Toffees have certainly been trying in the transfer window, with David Moyes being super clear and honest in all of his press conferences during Everton's involvement in the US Summer Series Premier League Tour, where the Toffees only managed to pick up 1 point from 3 games, with Manchester United, Bournemouth and West Ham being the opposition, with the point coming from a 2-2 draw with the Red Devils, the final game of the pre-season abroad trip, in terms of the sluggish approach to transfer business this summer. Moyes simply admitted that although "we're getting much closer", that feeling was around "four or five weeks ago as well", adding that, "we're getting near the tickly bits, and we've got to get some things done."

Recently, Everton have confirmed the signing of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall from Chelsea for a fee of around £25m. Although not getting the game time wanted at the London side, Dewsbury-Hall certainly proved his worth to Chelsea fans, being a squad player during the squad's victory in the FIFA Club World Cup just ended, as well as scoring some important goals, especially in the UEFA Conference League last year, scoring against both Gent and Copenhagen last season. Furthermore, the Toffees completed the signing of young fullback Adam Aznou from Bayern Munich for a fee of £7.8m. A position that was on the priority list this summer, following the exit of Ashley Young following the expiry of the 40-year-old’s contract, and the lack of backup to support and compete with the Ukrainian fullback last season means this signing may prove to be extremely valuable for the Blues. Furthermore, according to The Athletic, “Within the view at Everton’s recruitment circle is that Everton have signed one of Europe’s top full-back prospects, in Adam Aznou.”

One more position, the priority this summer, Moyes has even admitted, is a right winger. Now two names are being highly linked by top media outlets, and they are Tyler Dibling from Southampton and Jack Grealish from Manchester City. In the case of Tyler Dybling, Everton have had three bids rejected from Southampton, with the package deal almost reaching £45m and a huge 25% sell-on clause. Now, Dibling has requested to leave the club and is not in first-team training, either due to the speculation surrounding the teenager or to prevent an injury that may affect the deal. On the other hand, Jack Grealish's bad treatment at City, being left out of the squad for the Club World Cup, and continuously being left on the bench together possibly prove that the £100m price tag was maybe not worth it. Although City want a permanent transfer, the Toffees would prefer a "premium" loan deal, including a heavy fee and covering a proportion of the £300k weekly wage the 29-year-old is earning.

Going back to the Everton vs Roma Legends game, the fixture following the first team men's game, over the past few weeks, both clubs have finally been revealing the players that will be featuring, and now finally we have a full lineup!

Everton & Roma Legends Squad List:

Everton Legends:

Leighton Baines

Steven Pienaar

James McCarthy

Theo Walcott

Darron Gibson

Marcus Bent

Andy Johnson

James Vaughan

Mark Pembridge

Steven Naismith

James McFadden

Yakubu

Gareth Barry

Jan Mucha

Roma Legends:

Candela

Amelia

Aldair

Zago

Zebina

Perrotta

Brighi

Pizarro

Lima

Tonetto

Perotti

Delvecchio

Tommasi

Balzaretti

Di Biagio

Faty

Maini

Rosi

Scarchilli

D'Agostino

Everton's pre-season has been disappointing so far, without a shadow of a doubt, with a draw against Manchester United, a 2-1 defeat to West Ham, a 3-0 whooping versus Bournemouth, a 1-0 defeat to Blackburn Rovers away from home, and a 1-1 draw against Accrington Stanley which opened the Blues' season on the 15th of July. We are now edging closer and closer to the start of the 25/26 Premier League season, where the Toffees travel to Elland Road to face newly promoted side Leeds United, managed under Daniel Farke. There was speculation on who would manage Leeds this season, but the chairman, Paraag Marathe, ended the rumours quickly, stating that "he is my man."