Scott McTominay heading up the €70M Christmas Wishlist | OneFootball

Another day, another rumour plucked from the far reaches of the European transfer tabloids that makes us spill our lukewarm Bovril. This time, the alleged target is Scott McTominay, and the associated price tag is so ludicrous it could only have been invented by someone who thinks Everton still gets its transfer budget out of a Russian money-laundering operation.

Forget what you think you know about Everton's financial situation. Forget the PSR concerns. Forget the need for a proper striker and a full-back. According to reports — which appear to have originated from a Spanish outlet we'd never heard of before today — we are preparing a €70M (£61M) club-record bid to tempt McTominay back to the Premier League in January.

What is the problem with this picture?

Let’s be clear. This isn’t the McTominay who used to plug gaps at Old Trafford. This is the Serie A MVP McTominay who won the Scudetto with Napoli last season and finished 18th in the Ballon d'Or standings. The man is currently playing Champions League football and scoring overhead kicks for Scotland.

So, here is the inevitable reality check:

This rumour is classic January fluff, born from the fact that McTominay is Scottish, David Moyes is Scottish, and we have a handful of players going to Afcon. It’s lazy journalism dressed up as a blockbuster transfer.

We’re crying out for reinforcements, but the answer isn't a £61M Serie A legend; it’s a striker who can hit the target and a right-back who doesn't need to be replaced every 6 months.

Where is the logic in spending our theoretical budget on a player who won’t even want to wear the shirt?

Reader Comments (15)

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Eric Myles 2 Posted 20/11/2025 at 00:30:05

I worked with a mad Man Utd fan back in 2016 who told me this lad, as he was then, was the best player in their youth set up and was headed for the top.

Paul Hewitt 3 Posted 20/11/2025 at 06:45:56

Why do we get linked with players we are never going to get?

Ian Bennett 4 Posted 20/11/2025 at 06:50:12

We missed the boat on him years ago. Always a talent.

Jim Bennings 5 Posted 20/11/2025 at 07:09:05

I said during summer I'd have loved us to have pushed to sign John McGinn. Many didn't want him; for me, he'd have absolutely changed the dynamic of our entire team the way he grabs games by the scruff of the neck.

McTominay, I doubt we have any real chance of signing now. Whatever money we need to spend this January window it lies in the striker areas and the full back.

Mike Powell 6 Posted 20/11/2025 at 17:52:12

Why would we pay £70M for a midfielder that we don't need, when we are desperate for a striker???

If we have £70M to spend, go and get a striker! Who makes these rumours up???

Kevin Molloy 7 Posted 20/11/2025 at 18:47:43

As if Everton are going to lash out £70M to have four Number 10s on the books.

No sirree.

Mike Price 9 Posted 20/11/2025 at 19:28:15

Harrison Armstrong is better than him.

Why are we always in the running for the latest flavour of the month… Troy Parrot is another. If there's any truth in any of these rumours, it shows how completely unfit our recruitment department is.

Si Cooper 11 Posted 21/11/2025 at 00:20:57

I didn’t see anything whilst he was at Manure that particularly impressed me. I know he’s done well in Italy and gets some eye-catching goals but I think it is a gamble that he would be a stand-out performer for us (or anyone else in the Prem).

It could just be me. There have been a few players over the years who seemed to get regular acclaim but who left me cold. David Platt was one who seemed very, very average to me whilst getting selected for and ‘starring’ for the national team.

Matt Traynor 12 Posted 21/11/2025 at 02:45:44

Kevin #7 "As if Everton are going to lash out £70M to have four Number 10s on the books."

I admire the satire, as you know in 2017 we signed Sigurdsson, Klassen, Vlašić, and Rooney. It was, to be fair, for over €87m, not the €70m spouted here!

Mick O\'Malley 13 Posted 21/11/2025 at 08:08:40

I'm sorry but there's no way Harrison is better than McTominay at this present moment.

He's hardly featured in the Premier League for us and has played half a season on loan, whereas McTominay has played multiple seasons for Manchester United and was the standout player last year for Napoli and in Italy, plus he's an established international and a regular goalscorer

Jimmy Carr 14 Posted 21/11/2025 at 14:04:33

Good takedown Michael Kenrick and for once I agree with you. Even if we were stupid enough to try and sign him (I wouldn’t rule that out), why would he come?

Fake news!

Michael Kenrick 15 Posted 21/11/2025 at 14:22:43

This is what David Moyes had to say about it, when pressed:

“Well, I think the reality is I will never talk about other players, but if you’re talking about £60M, those sort of numbers, I don’t know if we’re quite at that level yet.”

“Hopefully we’re working towards that and building ourselves back up. We’ve said many times about getting back on solid ground; we’ve done that under the new owners, with the new stadium.”

“I don’t think we’ll be shooting for the stars right away. That’s not to say it won’t happen, but my gut feeling would be to say that’s not the market we’ll be in.”

So... Plucky little Everton, knife to a gunfight. A weasel doesn't change its spots.