Is there room for a statement signing at Everton this summer? | OneFootball

Exact knowledge of Everton’s summer budget is a guessing game, though the list of names credibly linked with Hill Dickinson Stadium has been fairly modest.

Hayden Hackney and Tyrique George have arrived for a combined initial fee of £34.5m, while Merlin Rohl’s loan from Freiburg has been turned permanent for around £18m.

Around £52.5m spent, but only Hackney’s arrival differentiates from last season’s squad. With Idrissa Gana Gueye’s deal expiring and Jack Grealish's loan over, Hackney will need to hit the Premier League running to ensure Everton do more than simply stand still.

Everton are expected to be busy across the remainder of the window. A right-back, or two, remains the priority, with Djed Spence, Ben White and Guela Doue the latest linked with filling a long-term problem position. Reports that Doue’s £40m asking price is out of Everton’s reach has created some concern about the finances available to invest.

Across the last five seasons, including this summer’s spend so far, Everton rank 15th in the Premier League for net spend. Only Aston Villa and Brighton, among ever-present top-flight teams, have invested less, net, in that five-year window.

So, is there room for a signing that could really raise the ceiling?

The Premier League’s new Squad Cost Ratio rules are a factor, but this is a club whose finances should be comparable to divisional peers that have been unafraid to loosen the purse strings.

Everton had the 10th-highest wage bill in the Premier League last season and rank 24th, worldwide, for revenue. The Toffees were 11th among English clubs in Deloitte’s Money League for 2024/25, with revenues set to rise further following the move into Hill Dickinson Stadium last season.

With a solid spine built, clear upgrades at right-back and centre-forward would take this team up a level. A right-sided winger, too, if we’re being greedy. With reasonable fees potentially being brought in for Dwight McNeil, Tim Iroegbunam and Thierno Barry, there should be some room to manoeuvre for team-changing talents.

Every Premier League club bar one has broken its transfer record more recently than Everton, whose biggest deal was Gylfi Sigurdsson's signing nine years ago. That deal, Manchester United’s recruitment of Paul Pogba, was a world-record fee.

​It’s not all about high fees, and Everton have invested before and got it wrong. Value remains the goal, but a real marquee signing would be a signal of intent from an ownership yet to win supporter trust.