'It wasn't supposed to be like this'
- Published
Southampton's exciting talent Tyler Dibling is one of those David Moyes expects Everton to land this week. Dibling clearly has Premier League experience and his arrival would be a positive, yet, at 19, he is also one for the future.
It was impossible not to see Moyes in animated conversation with Tomas Soucek, someone he knows so well from his time at West Ham, at Chicago's Soldier Field last Wednesday, and think that is exactly the kind of player Everton need; solid, experienced, dependable.
Soucek is not a target but Moyes will be on the lookout for a player with similar attributes to the Czech Republic skipper, who he signed permanently for West Ham in 2020 for £19.1m.
Moyes believes Jarrad Branthwaite might be fit enough to join the main group for training this week after the 23-year-old missed the US trip with a minor niggle.
Having Branthwaite and James Tarkowski back in defence will make Everton more solid. But Moyes knows it is not enough, which is why all the talk of Jack Grealish heading to the club might be premature.
Grealish would undoubtedly be an exciting addition, albeit with significant caveats around his form - he has not been the same player since Manchester City's 2023 Treble season and Moyes is not one to easily dismiss Pep Guardiola's assessment of the 29-year-old - and cost, even of a loan.
However, if it is to happen, it will be much later in the window. Everton have far more fundamental issues to address just now.
It wasn't supposed to be like this.