EVERTON 25/26 SQUAD ASSESSMENT PART 2: MIDFIELDERS. With Hayden Hackney's move from Middlesbrough finalized, Shan and Ryan dive straight into Everton's CAM, CM, and DM positions. In true Blue Frontier fashion, they build on the four needs laid out in Part 1 — more open play creation, better progression, stronger ball retention and press resistance, plus greater athleticism — then run the current squad through Wyscout indexes and on-ball metrics. We get into the rankings of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall at CAM as well as James Garner at CM, and illustrate how the absence of a disciplined, ball-progressing six stands out clearly. They give a full breakdown on Hayden Hackney, balancing his elite progression and activity against high turnovers, risky decision-making, and what he will need to adjust from the Champtionship to the Premier League. Rumors around targets like Mandela Keita are weighed alongside free agents, relegated options, and data-driven names such as Hugo Larsson and Pablo Maia. With David Moyes locked into the 4-2-3-1, they assess fit, budget reality, and whether recruitment is finally targeting the right gaps.

LINKS: https://linktr.ee/thebluefrontier

At long last, The Blue Frontier heads into the offseason with its annual Everton squad assessment. James, Shan, and Ryan break down the team from every angle, using overall results, attacking and defensive outcomes, physical data, style-of-play metrics, and individual performance numbers to get at the real question: what does Everton need to fix before the summer transfer window?

The trio looks beyond the surface of 49 points and a -3 goal difference, digging into David Moyes' direct attacking approach, Everton's struggles against pressure, league-low substitution usage, defensive drop-off, transition-heavy attack, and the need for more ball retention, progression, open-play creation, and athleticism.

Beto, Barry, Iliman Ndiaye, Jack Grealish, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, James Garner, Jarrad Branthwaite, and Jordan Pickford all come under the microscope. The episode ends with four key areas Everton must improve, setting the foundation for future position-by-position transfer analysis.

Links: https://linktr.ee/thebluefrontier

Everton close the Premier League season with a flat 1-0 away loss to Tottenham on May 24, 2026, helping Spurs secure survival and giving Everton supporters one final grim data point in a month-long collapse. James and Ryan try to rise above the obvious frustration, reviewing the match with a fair but unsentimental eye before turning to the bigger question: was this just late-season recency bias, or a warning about Everton's actual trajectory?

The episode covers Iliman Ndiaye's central role, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's struggles, Jake O'Brien's rough matchup with Mathys Tel, João Palhinha's match-winning influence, and the late energy from Tyrique George, Charly Alcaraz, and Harrison Armstrong. With Everton finishing 13th, just one point better than last season, the discussion widens to David Moyes, squad building, youth development, transfer value, and whether "stability" is progress or just a nicer word for standing still.

LINKS: https://linktr.ee/thebluefrontier