Everton sign Jack Grealish, Man City prospect and Rangers midfielder in dream new line-up if rumours are true

David Moyes is currently navigating his way through his 12th summer transfer window as Everton boss and his first since leaving the club for Manchester United in 2013.

During his first stint as Everton boss he helped transform the Blues from a team treading water in the Premier League to one that regularly competed for European qualification and after doing a similar job in his second stint at West Ham between 2019 and 2024, he will hope to prove that he still has what it takes to oversee a successful rebuild.

This summer marks an exciting new chapter in the club’s history. For one, it’s the first summer transfer window under the club’s new owners The Friedkin Group, while it’s also the start of an exciting new era on Bramley-Moore Dock after the Merseyside giants waved goodbye to their long-term home at Goodison Park.

But how are Everton likely to line-up during the 2025/26 season under Moyes? As the transfer rumours ramp up, we’ve taken a stab at how Everton’s ideal starting lineup could look next season, based on links going their way over the summer.

Everton retain Jarrad Branthwaite in a familiar backline

Jordan Pickford has well and truly cemented his status as an Everton icon and is certainly up there with the club’s best goalkeepers of the Premier League era alongside Tim Howard and Neville Southall. The England star has regularly kept the club away from danger in recent years and will hope to play European football at some point in the near future, having last represented Everton in the competition way back in 2017 just months after his arrival from Sunderland.

At right-back, long-serving defender Seamus Coleman faces an uncertain future despite being offered a new deal, as Jake O’Brien, who showed improvement under David Moyes, could play at full-back. Jarrod Branthwaite has attracted interest from numerous top clubs but in an ideal scenario for the Toffees will remain in the backline alongside ex-Burnley ace James Tarkowski in a solid centre back partnership.

At left-back, Football Insider, has tipped West Ham and Everton to battle it out to sign Kyle Walker-Peters, with the two-time England international potentially usurping Vitaliy Mykolenko in the pecking order.

Everton make stunning Jack Grealish signing

Everton intend to retain the services of Idrissa Gana Gueye despite the 35-year-old only having a month left of his deal.However, if the Senegalese international does depart after already losing Abdoulaye Doucoure on a free, it could force the Toffees into a shake up in the middle of the park.

One potential successor for Gueye could be Rangers midfielder, who is reportedly a target after showing promise at Ibrox. Another option in the middle of the park is likely to be James Garner, who settled nicely into the role towards the end of the season after returning from a back injury.

Ahead of the pair in the No.10 position could be Manchester City playmaker James McAtee. According to The i Paper, the 22-year-old is on the Toffees’ radar after struggling to nail down a regular starting place in Pep Guardiola’s XI. The 2024 league winners have already spent big on midfield reinforcements which will only push McAtee down the pecking order, leaving the door open for a potential swoop.

Out on the left, meanwhile it’s suggest Everton could make an audacious attempt to sign one-time £100m winger Jack Grealish from Manchester City. The England international has fallen way down the pecking order at the Etihad after being excluded from their Club World Cup squad and faces an uphill battle to prove himself to Thomas Tuchel in the coming months. Football Insider has claimed the former Aston Villa captain prefers a move to Everton over Newcastle due to havign more chance of playing regular first team football.

If Grealish, was to arrive, it would leave Everton with a deicison to make regarding Ilman Ndiaye, who has been a standout player on the left with nine goals. Simply put, the Senegalese footballer’s contribution makes him almost too good to drop and with that in mind we’ve instead moved him to his less natural right hand side ahead of Dwight McNeil.

In attack, Thierno Barry of Villarreal has been touted as a potential replacement for the soon-to-be departing Dominic Calvert-Lewin after scoring 11 goals in 33 matches last term. However, a rejuvenated Beto, who scored eight in 30 last term is likely to push him hard for a starting spot if that deal is successful.

Full Everton XI: Pickford, O’Brien, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Walker-Peters, Diomande, Garner, McAtee, Ndiaye, Grealish, Barry