David Moyes warns Everton squad is still short

Everton cruised past Preston North End 4-0 in the Carabao Cup, but David Moyes walked out of Deepdale talking not about the goals, but the gaps.

“I still think we’re short in the squad,” he said, matter-of-fact, after a night that should have been all about a comfortable win. With six days left of the window, the message was blunt: this Everton side is not finished.

Numbers that don’t add up for Moyes

On paper, Everton have been busy. Five signings have come through the door this summer. In reality, Moyes only counts three of them as genuine additions.

Tyrique George and Merlin Rohl were already part of the fabric last season, having ended the campaign on loan at Goodison Park. That leaves Hayden Hackney, Christian Norgaard and Brennan Johnson as the true new faces in his eyes.

Set that against the departures and the picture changes quickly.

Seamus Coleman and Idrissa Gueye have gone after their contracts expired. Dwight McNeil headed out in the deal that brought Johnson in from Crystal Palace. Jack Grealish’s loan ended and he is back at Manchester City. Strip it all back and Moyes believes he is operating with a group that is actually smaller than the one that already looked stretched last season.

“We thought our squad was quite thin last year and at the moment, I think we're still one down, if my numbers work out,” he said. “We're one down from where we were even last year. So I still think we're short in the squad. I still think we're short in quality in some places. I need to try and add that.”

The win at Preston underlined what Everton can do when things click. Moyes’ comments underlined why he doesn’t think it will be enough over a full Premier League campaign.

Right-back search drags on

One area has loomed over Everton for far too long. Right-back remains unresolved.

The club are still actively hunting a solution on that flank and have kept lines of communication open with Manchester City over a possible return for Jack Grealish, whose creativity lit up Goodison in flashes last season. Any move is complicated. Grealish has other admirers, with clubs such as Aston Villa and Sunderland circling.

Inside Finch Farm, there is also an acceptance that outgoings may be needed. Nathan Patterson, the only specialist right-back in the squad, is not viewed as the long-term answer to that “longstanding” problem. That is a stark assessment of a player in his position, and it underlines just how determined Moyes is to reshape that side of the pitch.

Futures on the line

The uncertainty does not end there. Beto’s situation is increasingly under the microscope.

The striker did not get on the pitch at Preston, finishing the night as an unused substitute. At full-time he handed his shirt to a supporter, a small gesture that will only fuel questions over where he fits into Moyes’ plans with the window closing in.

He is not alone. Carlos Alcaraz and Tim Iroegbunam are also into the final year of their deals, some with club options attached, and Everton are approaching a point where decisions can no longer be delayed.

The theme is clear: this is a squad in flux, and Moyes knows it.

O’Brien talk played down

One of the more intriguing names in the background is Jake O’Brien. He did not feature at Preston either, and reports have suggested Everton would be open to listening to offers for the defender.

Moyes pushed back on any idea that O’Brien has been cast aside.

“Just the same. No problem, I’ve chosen at the moment not to use him, but he’ll be used in plenty of games, no doubt,” he said.

The line was calm, but it came against a backdrop of churn and speculation. O’Brien may not be at the front of the queue right now, yet Moyes clearly wants him kept in the conversation for the season ahead.

Six days to change the mood

A 4-0 away win usually sends a manager into the next week with a spring in his step. Moyes instead sounded like a man staring at a checklist.

He wants a right-back. He wants more quality. He believes he is operating one player down on a squad that already flirted with its limits last year.

The performance at Deepdale showed what Everton can do on a good night. The next six days will show whether the club give Moyes enough bodies – and enough class – to turn those nights into a season.