The underrated problem Everton need to fix this summer – and the £50m solution

It’s almost impressive that Everton are still in the hunt for European football net season given how many holes are in their squad, yet it speaks to both the superb job that David Moyes has done with The Toffees, and the potential for this team if they can fix a few problems.

Less than 14 months after returning to Merseyside with Everton just one point above the relegation zone, Moyes’ side could probably go winless for the final third of the season and still survive, but their ambitions are much loftier than that.

The issues Everton need to worry about before next season

Given that Jack Grealish’s season is over, Europe may be a step too far in 2024/25 but if Everton can nail their recruitment in the summer then there’s no reason why it can’t be a legitimate aim next campaign.

Grealish’s injury and the likely departure of Iliman Ndiaye imply that Everton need more creativity in attack but Moyes’ first task there will be to get Tyler Dibling and Tyrique George firing in the starting lineup, as is the case with Thierno Barry at striker, where The Toffees’ woes are well-documented.

Likewise, one could hardly describe the need to improve Everton’s strength and depth at full-back as ‘overlooked’, and they’re well stocked in midfield and between the sticks. That leaves centre-back, where Everton only have four options - two of whom are aged 33 and one who has only started a single Premier League game at the position this season.

That means it’s imperative that Everton sign a younger, mobile yet first-team ready central defender in the summer, and there aren’t many players who fit that category. But one possible option is Burnley’s Maxime Esteve.

Why Esteve could be the unlikely answer for Everton

I can hear the laughter (or groans of anguished) all the way from Merseyside at the suggestion, and to get the obvious knock out of the way first, no centre-back has conceded more Premier League goals while on the pitch this season than Esteve (per FotMob),

However, Esteve is still just 23, and only makes up a fifth of one of the worst defences in the Premier League. Burnley have been bad all-round this season and that includes at the back, yet Esteve’s underlying numbers aren’t too bad and that’s after they’ve been skewed by his horror show against Manchester City in the first half of the campaign.

One of the more proficient one-on-one defenders in the top flight Esteve is in the top 20% of Premier League centre-backs for duel success rate both in the air and on the ground, and Everton retain the depth to give him some time to work on his weaknesses away from matchdays.

And Esteve is rapid for a centre-back, meaning he would immediately address one of the major flaws at the heart of Everton’s aging defence this season, while he’s shown the maturity and humility to accept that he needs to get better.

Burnley slapped a £50 million price tag on him last summer, though Transfermarkt value him at €25m (£22m) and given his struggles this season, Everton could likely get him for a reduced fee once the Clarets are relegated.

More popular suggested names like John Stones, Ozan Kabak or Kevin Boma are either too old, too slow or too inexperienced to meaningfully contribute both in 2026/27 and beyond but while Esteve isn’t the finished article yet he’s a smarter long-term option and has the potential to develop into a dependable Premier League-quality centre-back.