Everton transfer deadline day as it happened as Carlos Alcaraz signs after deal sheet

Alcaraz on joining the Blues

And this is what the 22-year-old has to say on the move:

“I am very happy to join Everton, such a great club, with a very good fanbase. I'm very happy and I'm looking forward to start training with my teammates and see the fans at the stadium.

“I am ready for any challenge with this beautiful club so that's why I came and accepted the offer to keep fighting for my dreams. I want to tell the fans that whenever I wear this shirt, I will give my best, I will give everything I have to take Everton to the top, which is where they deserve to be.”

Alcaraz: Done Deal

It is completed!

Alcaraz has signed on a loan deal that includes an option for Everton to make the deal permanent in the summer.

He will wear the #24 shirt.

Everton and the full back scenario

Suits you, Chilly #CPFC pic.twitter.com/YPIwpruZME

— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) February 3, 2025

Here's a deal that escaped me tonight - Ben Chilwell to Crystal Palace.

Earlier in the window there was talk of Everton looking at the left back position, where Vitalii Mykolenko only has competition from Ashley Young. Young, of course, spent most of the first half of the season starting at right back.

My understanding is that David Moyes thinks competition and cover is needed in that position but that, as was the case in the summer, there is a belief Everton have just about enough in the squad to cover the full back positions and that the priority was to strengthen elsewhere.

Carlos Alcaraz: He runs, runs, runs

Seeing as we are all here for Carlos Alcaraz, here is his Flamengo boss Felipe Luis talking about the player that we are hoping will be a Blue in the coming hours:

"He decided to leave. I believe he can be happy. I sent him a message and he replied. I love Alcaraz. Why did he get minutes? Because he doesn't give up, he wants to learn, he tries, he fights, he makes an effort.

"He runs, runs, runs. I insisted until the end. Not everyone will succeed. I hope he's happy, I love this kid."

How long might we be waiting for?

So, we now have until 1am on Tuesday morning for this move to be completed. If the Broja deal is anything to go by, I think it was around 1.30am by the time we had official confirmation. So get ready for a fair bit of waiting - if you want to salvage a proper night's sleep then switch off now, while you can - as much as your attention is valuable to me, and I love you all for being here and reading my work, this might be a whole lot of filler before confirmation either way!

Everton... eh?

(All will be forgiven if he nods in a late winner in the derby next week)

The wait goes on

I know a lot of you are wondering how this has gone so late... I am as well. I think we will get more detail over the coming days as to what was holding up this move being signed off. But I think it is likely it still gets done. Armando Broja was signed when that deal emerged in the final hours of deadline day in the summer. Everton have been working on this for days.

It is quite surreal given Flamengo essentially said this was a done deal on Friday afternoon - think they might have gone prematurely on that!

Deal sheet IN

Just had confirmation - Everton have submitted a deal sheet to try and get Alcaraz over the line

Late business elsewhere

Man City have got another big money deal over the line... Spurs look like they have brought in attacking option Mathys Tel on a loan from Bayern Munich too, though I've not yet seen that officially confirmed. So much attacking depth there in north London. Could we not have had Richarlison?

Welcome, Nico! pic.twitter.com/dvHbM9XIXE

— Manchester City (@ManCity) February 3, 2025

What is a deal sheet as we enter deadline day no man's land

Wait... what was that noise.... was it... yes... I think we all just heard the transfer window SLAM shut.

Sorry, I really am on the cusp of losing it here.

11pm has been and gone. We are now in that mysterious grey area where deals can still get done, but only if certain bits of paperwork have been submitted in time.

Just to stress, I'm not sure whether Alcaraz has quite entered deal sheet territory - as Armando Broja did back in the summer.

But while he is still expected to become an Everton player, he has not yet been announced.

For all of you wondering what a deal sheet is by the way, here is an explainer.

"I'll give everything I can when I wear the shirt – you'll never see me not give 100 per cent."

This is nice - the big deal that has been done today is the one taking Harrison Armstrong on loan to Derby County.

Completely understand the reservations of some over his departure - Everton's squad is thin and the season-ending injury to Orel Mangala has added to what David Moyes already viewed as a squad that needed another midfielder.

But the hope must be that James Garner, having come through so impressively against Leicester (what an assist again for Beto), and Tim Iroegbunam, who came off the bench on Saturday, will push on from their recoveries and free up the space for Armstrong to get valuable first team minutes.

Anyway - here is Armstrong on his first loan move.

"I'll give everything I can when I wear the shirt – you'll never see me not give 100 per cent."

The first interview with Harrison Armstrong.

— Derby County (@dcfcofficial) February 3, 2025

Heading into deal sheet territory

I have asked whether we are moving into deal sheet territory here on Alcaraz... that would be the second deadline day in a row after Armando Broja was signed at the death in the summer!

Ready for a lie down after a tumultuous January

Look, I know that last post might have been a bit of whataboutery, but I am struggling here. I thought Alcaraz might have been wrapped up a long time ago and can't quite believe we are still here waiting for this. The January transfer window is often a long one and after weeks of talks about Ernest Nuameh, Carney Chukwuemeka, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Sean Longstaff and others, plus trying to get my head around incredibly complicated loan rules and a turbulent month for all of the reasons above, I possibly need a lie down!

Four crazy weeks have their positives

If we are looking for positives, there are plenty available from January

• Three wins from three and two clean sheets
• Eight goals in three league games
• Moyes has brought the feel-good factor after replacing Dyche (who deserves credit for keeping Everton from catastrophe for the previous two season)
• Everton have cleared PSR for the first time in three years
• The outstanding PSR issue has been dealt with and is no longer a source of uncertainty
• Everton are nine points clear of the bottom three

Transfer window so far

Right, all joking aside, here is where we are at the end of the transfer window - minus the Alcaraz confirmation.

• Harrison Armstrong has signed a new deal and joined Derby County on loan
• Bradley Moonan has joined Prescot Cables on loan
• Everton look set to keep hold of Armando Broja despite his current injury - they had explored sending him back to Chelsea in the hope of freeing up a domestic loan spot
• Stanley Mills has been sold to Oxford for an undisclosed fee

That's a pretty quiet month until you look at what else has happened, which I will do in the next post

Hellooo... Finch Farm?

Right, now into the final half an hour...

Final hour of the window

Right, here we are. I would ask whether there is going to be any late drama but now I'm asking... where is the Alcaraz announcement! I had started to hope for an early night but it looks like Everton will make us wait!

Chelsea come from behind to lead West Ham

Chelsea have come from behind to lead West Ham 2-1. As it stands that would leave the Hammers one point above Everton having played a goal more. Their goal difference is also considerably worse than the Blues'.

One of several clubs well within Everton's sights as a result of those three consecutive wins.

Danny Ings, who I had wondered whether would end up in Moyes' sights this month, has just come off the bench to try and find a way back for West Ham.

Watch: Royal Blue podcast

I've just been with Tony and Ian over on the Royal Blue podcast to discuss where we are heading into the final hours of deadline day.

You can follow their chat HERE

Kevin Thelwell on the Armstrong deal

And this is what the director of football has to say:

“Harrison has shown what an exciting talent he is by gaining experience with our Men’s Senior Team this season, earning his Premier League debut at the age of 17 and making appearances in all three competitions we have played in.

“His progress underlines the clear pathway that is there from our Academy to Senior Team and we are delighted he has signed this new deal for what we believe can be a bright future with Everton.

“We now look forward to Harrison getting a new challenge in the Championship on loan at Derby which will provide another important step in his development.”

'I just want to push on and reach more'

Armstrong has signed a deal that will take him to 2028 and which includes the option of a further year.

On that deal, and his move to Derby, he said: “I’m really excited to sign this deal with a club that means everything to me.

“It shows the belief that Everton have in me and I just want to keep progressing and getting better. Getting the chance to play for the first team this season has been great and I just want to push on and reach more.

“I now have an opportunity at a really good club like Derby to learn and hopefully do well for them and I’m looking forward to it.”

Confirmed: Armstrong joins Derby

Ah, here we go.

Confirmation now that Armstrong has signed a new deal and joined Derby on loan.

Quotes to follow.

Dotting the i's and crossing the t's

Still waiting for the Alcaraz deal to be confirmed, which is a bit of a surprise. Not aware of any issues so it looks like Everton are just taking their time to line everything up.

We are still waiting for confirmation that Harrison Armstrong will join Derby too. My understanding he has penned a new long-term deal with Everton as part of talks today.

Time is now running out for the window to throw up any surprises. Elsewhere, Newcastle United centre back Lloyd Kelly has moved on loan to Juventus.

Teenager secures loan move to Prescot Cables

We have movement! Bradley Moonan, the 18-year-old centre back who has made a few appeareances in the U21s this season, has earned a move. He will be staying on Merseyside, with the teenager getting a loan move to Prescot Cables for the rest of the season.

Breaking news across the Premier League

A few other breaking stories from across the Premier League.

Spurs moved a point ahead of Everton with their win over Brentford yesterday. But their injury nightmare is set to continue, and continue with another setback in the defence. Radu Dragusin, the centre back they signed from Genoa last year, has suffered an ACL injury. That is one of the reasons Ange Postecoglou's side is chasing centre backs right now, having had a bid rejected by Crystal Palace for Marc Guehi and trying to revive efforts to bring in Axel Disasi from Chelsea.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa have signed Marco Asensio on loan from Real Madrid, another huge attacking boost after landing Marcus Rashford.

Stan Mills on his move to the Championship

Friday night was a strange one, with the Carlos Alcaraz deal breaking over in Brazil. That was one no-one really saw coming, myself included.

One deal I was aware of was that of Stan Mills heading to Oxford United. This was a permanant move for an undisclosed fee and, while it is a shame he has left the Blues, this is a good move for the player.

Mills was doing well at Oxford last season when he suffered the horrific injury in the FA Cup third round that took him a full year to recover from. He made his comeback for Everton U21s last month - winning a penalty, and scoring it - in the defeat against Leeds United.

Fingers crossed this move goes well for him. This is what the 21-year-old has had to say on his return to Oxford:

“This is where I want to be. Oxford United is like a home to me. I feel my business here at the club is unfinished. I had the most enjoyable period in my career here last season. Now, I want to pick up where I left off and keep bringing success.

“2024 was a difficult year personally. I missed out on a lot of football, but it’s made me more determined to be back and give my all in yellow again.

“The Oxford United supporters have been truly incredible with me during the last 18 months. The fans are a huge reason I am back, now, I want to achieve big things together.”

Over in Italy...

Everton's search for a striker this month currently looks set to be a fruitless one. So here is a look at a former one scoring a screamer over the weekend - Moise Kean is having a lovely time in Fiorentina. Not only is he challenging for Serie A top scorer but, in Ademola Lookman and Romelu Lukaku, three of the top five most prolific goalscorers in Italy's top flight are former Everton players.

This Moise Kean goal needs to be hung up in a museum

pic.twitter.com/5M65d96i1f

— Italian Football TV (@IFTVofficial) February 3, 2025

Elsewhere on Monday night

There is, of course, a Premier League game this evening and both Chelsea and West Ham United are active in the market today.

West Ham have signed Evan Ferguson on loan from Brighton. Such a strange one to me, appreciate the forward has had his injuries and Brighton have a loaded squad, but I was sat a few feet from manager Fabian Hurzeler last week after Everton won at the Amex when he was asked about Ferguson. Hurzeler was cryptic but there didn't seem much warmth from him towards the striker.

He came off the bench at the weekend and was not available to Everton on a loan deal given that the club has utilised its domestic loan spots. But it made little sense to plump for another forward who was just coming off the back of injury issues. Really interested to see how he does over the coming months.

Chelsea are about as busy as any side can ever be in the market and at the moment are dealing with enquiries from Spurs over defender Axel Disasi.

'I love this kid' - Flamengo boss on Carlos Alcaraz

Everton are yet to confirm the arrival of Carlos Alcaraz but we are not hearing of any issues on a deal that was actually announced by Flamengo on Friday night.

Asked about the player's return to the Premier League, Felipe Luis, his manager at the Brazil giants, said:

"I believe he can be happy. I sent him a message and he replied. I love Alcaraz. Why did he get minutes? Because he doesn't give up, he wants to learn, he tries, he fights, he makes an effort.

"He runs, runs, runs. I insisted until the end. Not everyone will succeed. I hope he's happy, I love this kid."

Full story, including more quotes, HERE

Armando Broja the talking point for a second deadline day

Armando Broja could well be the big story of deadline day for the second successive window.

His arrival was secured in the early hours back in September after last minute talks with Chelsea. For most of this month, the dilemma for Everton has been whether to try and send him back to Chelsea (incurring a fee) and open up a domestic loan spot. At one point that might have been filled with one of Broja's teammates, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall or Carney Chukwuemeka.

It is increasingly looking like he will remain at Everton for a host of reasons, many of which I included in this piece from Friday

Armstrong set for new deal

It looks like Armstrong is set to leave Everton on loan - but a new contract could be on the cards too.

According to John Percy of the Daily Telegraph, the youngster will commit his future to the club by signing a long-term deal.