David Moyes on Everton's Distant Owner and Transfer Chaos

David Moyes has revealed he has still not met Everton owner Dan Friedkin, despite being back in the Goodison Park dugout since January 2025.

Friedkin, head of The Friedkin Group, completed his takeover in December 2024 and runs the club from Houston. He has yet to attend a home game. At a club already on edge after a fraught summer window, that distance is being felt.

Speaking before Sunday’s game against Manchester United, Moyes was asked if he had spoken to Friedkin at any point in the 20 months since his reappointment.

“No,” came the reply. One word, no gloss.

A distant owner, a tight inner circle

Friedkin has handed the day-to-day running of Everton to his son-in-law Rishi Majithia, who operates alongside chief executive Angus Kinnear. For Moyes, that chain of command is clear.

“My real contact is Angus,” he said. “Angus is the one who I would go to see. Rishi is the next one and then the head of the Friedkin family in America.

“I don't really get any direct conversations with them, but I do through Rishi, he is the one I would speak to.”

That structure has been dragged under the spotlight by a turbulent transfer window that left supporters furious and the squad threadbare.

Transfer chaos and fan fury

The tension boiled over at Bournemouth last Saturday. News broke during the game that Everton had accepted a £40m offer from Nottingham Forest for Harrison Armstrong, one of the club’s brightest prospects and an England Under-19s midfielder. The away end reacted with fury.

The club eventually backed away from the sale, but the damage to trust lingered. It was not an isolated flashpoint.

On deadline day, striker Beto was sold to Fiorentina before Everton had secured a replacement. USA forward Folarin Balogun then pulled out of a move from Monaco late on Tuesday, leaving Moyes exposed and options up front brutally thin.

Everton ended the window with just 18 senior players. One recognised striker. One right-back. One left-back. For a Premier League season, it is a squad built on risk.

Moyes did not hide his sympathy with the fanbase when Armstrong looked set to leave. He pointed out the club was “managed by an Evertonian” and added that “supporters aren't always wrong”, words that landed strongly with a restless crowd.

Moyes stays in the fight

Behind the scenes, Moyes knows the structure needs work.

“We've got new owners in who are still feeling their way in the club,” he said on Friday. “I think if we get to know each other more it will get better.”

The 61-year-old has seen Everton at their best. In his first spell, from 2002 to 2013, he drove the club into the Premier League’s top five on a regular basis. That history is part of why he is refusing to walk away now, even as the club stumbles through another storm.

Asked if he had considered quitting amid the chaos, his answer cut through.

“Everton's different,” he said. “I wouldn't have come back for anybody but Everton.”

He leaned on the club’s identity, and on the people who fill the stands.

“I think the club here has had enough days where the people find a way of recovering. People saw the face of Evertonians last week and it can be really powerful. I would expect them to be really powerful now.

“But powerful for the team, powerful for the players. What we're going to need from them is extra because we're short, so we need them. If they're not with us, then it's terrible. And they are with us, I believe they are with us.”

A distant owner in Houston, a thin squad, a manager acting as the bridge, and a fanbase simmering but still engaged. As United arrive at Goodison, Everton’s season already feels like a test of how long that fragile unity can hold.