Credit: Tung Manh Phan/Breaking Media

Cameron Smith

Mon 1 June 2026 8:40, UK

David Moyes needs a lot more from Merlin Rohl ahead of next season to ensure that Everton do not end up with egg on their face.

The German midfielder joined from SC Freiburg on deadline day last summer, and endured a difficult maiden year in England.

Alongside fitness issues during the early days of the season, Rohl struggled to really get going, racking up just 677 minutes in the Premier League.

Despite this, the 23-year-old is set to join permanently over the summer, with the £18million deal activated as a result of the Toffees’ top-flight survival.

And to avoid a transfer blunder, Moyes must finally look to place his full trust in the midfielder as Everton resets after a disappointing end to the campaign.

Difficult Merlin Rohl season is not necessarily his own fault

Joining Freiburg from Ingolstadt in 2022, the Potsdam-born midfielder was highly rated across the Bundesliga.

Then, after an injury-disrupted 2024-25 campaign that limited Rohl to 19 Bundesliga outings, the 2025-26 term looked set to be his breakout year at the Black Forest club before he made a late summer move to Merseyside.

Despite being yet to make his full breakthrough in South Germany, he remained highly rated – hence Everton’s willingness to get a deal over the line last summer.

Since then, Moyes has never truly placed his trust in him, with his longest run of matches only coming at the end of the season, when he started each of the final four games.

Even then, that came in an unfamiliar role on the right-hand side where, despite his versatility, he unfortunately showed he is not a natural wide man – particularly when the overlapping option outside him was Jake O’Brien, a central defender operating at full-back.

Former Freiburg boss Christian Streich previously said: “Merlin’s taking big strides after his injury troubles. He’s got pace, great movement. He can be a real difference-maker,” with his versatility highlighted by the Sofascore graphic below.

Similar sentiments have been echoed among the Everton fanbase, who remained supportive of the midfielder despite his struggles, after he impressed in cameo appearances, and his character also shone off the pitch.

It cannot be ignored, though, that the Toffees are set to spend £18m this summer on a player with fewer than eight matches’ worth of minutes under his belt, meaning Moyes must be looking to get the most out of him moving forward.

David Moyes should have clear Everton vision – Merlin Rohl fits into this

On their way to missing out on Europe, Everton flattered to deceive in the final weeks of the season.

Failing to win any of their final seven games, the Blues endured a gutting end to the campaign after showing signs of life before the March international break.

Frustrations grew amid Moyes’ stubbornness and his insistence on sticking with his favourites despite the rotten run of form.

With this in mind, Rohl, Tyler Dibling, Harrison Armstrong and even Chelsea loanee Tyrique George were never given a genuine opportunity to displace his trusted regulars.

Now, Rohl and the others mentioned may not necessarily be guaranteed starters, but there simply cannot be such a disparity in the minutes registered come May.

Big-money signing Dibling, alongside Rohl and Armstrong, racked up a combined 1,555 minutes between them by the end of the term – a figure lower than the 1,630 managed by Jack Grealish, who had been sidelined through injury since January.

In an already thin squad, eight Blues players finished the season with fewer than 1,000 minutes, while the regular starters did not exactly prove themselves clearly superior.

Rohl sits among this group of players whom Moyes simply must make better use of next season, even if he is not the first name on the teamsheet.

Having watched his side tail off towards the back end of the campaign, Moyes must utilise the full squad if European ambitions are to be realised, while the fees outlaid on the likes of Rohl are at least somewhat justified by a meaningful role.

Updated 24/7 with expert analysis from the heart of Goodison Park.