Credit: Imago

Richie Mills

Sat 14 March 2026 8:10, UK

David Moyes says as “unbelievable amount of players” turned down Everton due to them not being in European competitions.

Everton spent in excess of £100million on players last summer, including sizeable fees for Tyler Dibling, Thierno Barry, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.

Moyes returned to the club in January last year and guided them to a 13th-place finish, as the Toffees won their last three games as they bid farewell to their beloved Goodison Park.

Despite moving into their new state-of-the-art home, at Hill Dickinson Stadium, Moyes has revealed that plenty of targets snubbed their advances in the past two transfer windows.

But Moyes thinks Everton can solve that transfer issue by securing European football next season, which is very much a possibility.

Everton set their sights on Europe amid David Moyes goal

Everton signed nine players last summer, including the loan capture of Jack Grealish from Manchester City, but only a few of them have been first-team regulars.

In January, Harrison Armstrong was recalled from his Preston North End loan, while Tyrique George was their sole recruit as he joined on loan from Chelsea.

The winger was recruited to replace the injured Grealish, which didn’t excite Everton fans a great deal. Ahead of facing Arsenal on Saturday at Emirates Stadium, the Merseyside outfit are eighth in the Premier League.

They sit one point behind Brentford, who are in pole position to qualify for next season’s Conference League. Now, Moyes, who has done well in his second stint at the club, has stated that Everton’s chances of attracting a better calibre of player may hinge on returning to Europe for the first time since 2018.

He told reporters on Friday: “I was probably more surprised about the players who didn’t want to come to Everton. An unbelievable amount of players who I spoke to and I couldn’t get them to come.

“But if you want really good players, a lot of them want to be in Europe. That’s why for us to build quickly, and for us to get the level of players we’d like to get in the next window, I think Europe is really important.”

Everton are five points behind rivals Liverpool, with the Reds currently on track to qualify for next season’s Europa League. It may be too much to haul in Arne Slot’s men but a win at Arsenal will go a long way to achieving that lofty goal.

Everton may need more than Europe to attract top stars

While securing European football will definitely help Everton sign certain players, many individuals are mainly focused on the Champions League.

Barring a remarkable end to the season, Everton will not achieve that arduous task. Therefore, qualifying for the Europa League may not move the needle a great deal.

There are teams across Europe who can offer Champions League football to certain players, and that puts the Toffees, for example, at a disadvantage. The waters they swim in will still prevent them from signing top talent from more cash-rich clubs.

Moreover, if they want to increase their chances of signing better players, they may need to start offering bigger wages.

According to reports, Everton are mid-table when it comes to their annual payroll, with the likes of Aston Villa and Newcastle United dwarfing them in that regard.

It can be a risky strategy and may lead to disrupting the harmony of a first-team squad. But if Everton want to continue on an upward trajectory, this is a factor that needs to be considered.