Everton must buy the one thing David Moyes cannot coach - TFG will need to spend
Former Blues defender Michael Ball looks ahead to a crucial summer transfer window for David Moyes, Everton and the club's owners
Now the season is over we can really start to look towards the summer and I think one thing is clear - it is time for Everton’s new owners to back David Moyes.
The Blues boss has pulled off a masterstroke. He arrived with the club in turmoil and The Friedkin Group, which backed Sean Dyche in the hope he could provide stability through their first six months, needed a miracle worker to pull Everton clear of trouble and protect their new project.
He did that and more. Had Everton been on zero points when Moyes arrived his record still would have kept them up. It has been a turnaround few of us associated with the Blues could have dreamt of.
Moyes has done his part, now TFG must do theirs. That means giving Moyes and those around him the money and the support to approach this transfer market properly.
The squad will have to change a lot this summer given so many players are out of contract and that will make the coming months challenging. The process will be far easier if Moyes and new chief executive Angus Kinnear are given the tools to take advantage of the chance to rebuild.
This does not just mean signing players, Everton will still have to be cute to get the best out of the transfer market. It also means being timely - this club has suffered for years by bringing players in late in the summer.
A good start at the Hill Dickinson Stadium is important and Everton will have a better chance of doing that if targets are secured early and given time to gel with their new teammates and for Moyes to bring them to full fitness.
For whatever reason, Everton started campaigns slowly under Dyche. The eyes of the world will be on the club and that stunning new home in August, Moyes needs the support to ensure the Blues do not disappoint.
I was pleased to see the club is exploring a deal for Carlos Alcaraz. I think he has done well since he arrived in January and, given his price tag seems to be around £12m, that would represent good business.
As I wrote above, Everton need to target early deals and they need to be savvy. For a good price, Alcaraz is a player who knows Everton, knows Moyes and knows the teammates that will remain beyond the end of June. That is all positive. For Everton, they know they will be getting a player who has shown he can make a difference in Premier League games.
Moyes should have earned the trust of TFG with all that he has done so far.
He deserves to be backed in the market because he will need more than spirit and potential to turn Everton from a team that is nearly at the top of the bottom of the table to one competing for the top 10 and then Europe.
This summer, he needs quality and, more than anything, I think he needs the one thing that cannot be coached - pace.