Everton

Matt Jones
BBC Sport journalist

After their first setback of the season before the international break, Hull City will be hoping to get on track again when they welcome an unbeaten Everton team to the MKM Stadium on Sunday (14:00 BST).

The Tigers were unable to recover from two early Newcastle United goals last time out, eventually losing 2-1 at St James' Park in what was their first league loss of the campaign. But they go into the weekend in eighth and with a solid foundation in place to keep clear of relegation trouble.

Everton sit a place above Hull in seventh. David Moyes and his players have had a lot of noise to deal with off the pitch - it was confirmed on Friday that the club is up for sale - but on he field they've performed well, winning four and drawing three matches in all competitions so far.

Tigers tamed by Toon - what next?

Keep it tight and play on the counter-attack. Hull's plan has been clear since their return to the top flight. Unfortunately for head coach Sergej Jakirovic, the blueprint is not compatible with being two goals down after seven minutes, as they were at Newcastle.

They did at least respond well and gave themselves a chance thanks to Mohamed-Ali Cho's second-half goal. But it was too much of a deficit for the Tigers to tackle.

In terms of approach, it would be a surprise if too much changed against Everton, with Hull's plan serving them well through the first four games. Jakirovic's side won't be desperate to get on the ball, that's for sure.

So far this season, they rank 20th among Premier League teams for successful passes – Hull's total of 1,017 is 305 lower than Coventry City's 1,322, in 19th – and average possession, with 32.3%. Everton, their opponents this weekend, rank 17th in the latter category with 43.6%.

They have also only completed 22 sequences of 10 or more passes, which is a league low. Their rate of 0.4 build-up attacks per 90 is also the lowest by a Premier League team in any season since 2018-19 (Cardiff City's 0.37 per game).

Toffees find purpose after turbulent summer

Although some sales late in the transfer window left Everton without any depth in key positions, a number of different players have been able to step up and shine.

Young midfielder Harrison Armstrong leads the Premier League for distance covered so far with 60.4km, while the return to fitness of Jarrad Branthwaite – he leads the league for blocks with 11 – has been key to Everton having the joint-best defensive record in the division going into the weekend.

Branthwaite's presence also brings out the best in Blues captain James Tarkowski, who has started this campaign well after a tough end to 2025-26.

The veteran centre-back has the best success rate of any player to contest 15 or more duels in the Premier League this season, with 83%. He is also the only defender to make 10 or more tackles and 10 or more interceptions, with 11 and 14 respectively. Tarkowski also has a goal and an assist for good measure.

Most crucially, though, when Branthwaite and Tarkowski have been on the field together for the Toffees, improved results have followed.

Giulia Bould
BBC Radio Merseyside reporter

Image source, Getty Images

The Friedkin Group was hailed as saving Everton when it took over in December 2024.

It had bought a broken club used to financial chaos, points deductions and relegation battles. It brought back David Moyes and oversaw the move to Hill Dickinson Stadium.

However, less than two years on, it looks like the American group saw it as a way to boost its finances rather than an opportunity to return Everton to their former glory.

Fans suspected for a while that Roma was the 'favourite child' and it looks today like those suspicions were right.

Now a for sale sign is back up, even those inside the club were surprised at the timing of the statement released on Friday. This is the first time it was made clear to the Toffees hierarchy that The Friedkin Group was ready to leave.

While it feels uncertain, it serves no-one to drag this sale out and the aim will be to sell by the end of the season.

What is needed now is due diligence to ensure Everton can be sold to someone who cares and really wants to wake up the sleeping giant.

Listen to Total Sport Merseyside from 18:00 on weeknights and find details here of live Everton match commentaries on BBC Radio Merseyside

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We asked for your views on the news Everton owners The Friedkin Group are open to selling the club, having only completed their takeover in 2024.

Here are some of your comments:

Wayne: All the signs were there. Prioritising Roma, selling Iliman Ndiaye below value, attempting to sell Harrison Armstrong. Surely the Premier League is more profitable than Serie A?

Tim: They bought the club on the cheap with no intention of investing or taking the club forward. Get to the new stadium which will make a lot of revenue, then sell for a higher price. Yet these are fit and proper people. Joke.

Geoffrey: After finally achieving stability on and off the field, this plunges Everton back into uncertainty. The Friedkin's have never shown any real interest in Everton and are now looking for a quick profit. The club, manager, players and supporters deserve better. It is to be hoped that some potential buyers emerge who have a serious interest in Everton rather than some American hedge fund. It would be so good if there could be a community buyout so that Everton was owned by its supporters, but that's probably impossible.

Tez: Good riddance to the invisible Friedkin's.

Charlie: American billionaires treating a historic football club like a house flip on Rightmove. It's beyond a disgrace.

Paul: If it goes to someone who cares about Everton, then I think it's a good thing. Friedkin's have brought financial stability and delivered the new stadium, and that was all much needed and they need credit for it. However, the transfer strategy, the structure at the club and people in those roles are all not right and need proper leadership and strategy. The club needs a rebuild, including a lot of the squad, and this will take a few years, and we need someone who is going to stick it out with us.

Former Everton goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, says there should be "zero debate" over Jordan Pickford's starting role for England.

The 32-year-old has 93 senior caps for the Three Lions but was left on the bench by Thomas Tuchel for two of their Nations League games during the international break - the defeat by Spain and the 2-0 win over Czech Republic - as Leeds United's James Trafford took the spot instead.

But Begovic told BBC Radio Merseyside that any criticism towards Pickford is "because it's 2026 and we get bored easily".

He added: "Pickford is the undisputed number one, no reason not to be.

"I fully understand Tuchel giving other players games, but in terms of being number one, it's Pickford [because of] everything he has done for club and country for quite a number of years.

"He's been incredibly impressive, very significant and I've seen first-hand how good he is."

Listen to the full chat above or on BBC Sounds here

Katie Stafford
BBC Sport journalist

Everton boss David Moyes has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Hull City at MKM Stadium (kick-off 14:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Moyes said he "was surprised" to learn of The Friedkin Group exploring the sale of the club on Friday morning.

• He went on to say "maybe I shouldn't be that surprised" and cited the "difficult summer" Everton had in the transfer window.

• In response to whether he feels let down by the club based on what he was told on his return: "No, because I love this club. They could have sold me it at any time and I'd still have taken it. But it's for Evertonians that I am more disappointed. They have been through so many difficult periods and the last thing they really wanted to hear was this."

• He said a quick sale would be beneficial for the club and he is "looking forward to getting the right people in to take the club further forward". Moyes added: "It's a great club. If anyone wants to speak to me then I will be the first person to let them know that it is certainly worth buying."

• On the fans facing more uncertainty: "Evertonians are galvanized more when there's a situation where they know the team and manager needs help. We stick together. I don't want it to feel unstable. We have to try to keep it moving forward, not backwards."

• In response to Manchester City'sguilty verdict, external, Moyes said: "I wasn't here when it was difficult for Everton, when things were bad. Looking at it now from where I am sitting, it looks terrible that we have been docked points and paid some fines - and not that long ago. There's other things that have been going on, nearly 10 years ago, that have not been dealt with. I find that really difficult."

• More from Moyes on City's potential punishment: "I hope it's not just Everton who are getting picked on here. I think we get picked on by the referees and every other area as well."

• The Toffees boss feels "everyone has been a bit fed up with the three-week break" and "it's like another start to the league", except this time the players have had less preparation.

• Left-back Vitalii Mykolenko "has got a chance" of being available against Hull City and "the extra day might help, we will see".

• On summer signing Christian Norgaard: "He's making progress, but I don't know if he's quite ready yet to be involved. With the numbers being so short then it might be something I have to look at, but if I had my way then I'd give him a bit more time if I could."

• Moyes insisted no-one "will take Hull City lightly because they have started the season so well," adding: "We certainly won't. It will be a tough game, but we think we can keep growing and keep winning."

Hit play above to hear more from Moyes or listen on BBC Sounds here

Listen to live commentary of Hull City v Everton on BBC Radio 5 Live from 14:00 BST on Sunday.

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Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast, former Everton goalkeeper Rachel Brown-Finnis described the news that Blues owners The Friedkin Group (TFG) is exploring the sale of the club less than two years after taking control as a "shock".

The American group completed a takeover of the club in 2024 in a deal believed to be worth in excess of £400m.

In a statement, TFG said after prioritising stability, investment and the opening of Everton's new stadium last year, the time is right "to consider the next chapter".

It added it will only "entertain interest from parties who we strongly believe will be the right stewards to take the club forward".

"It's come as a bit of a shock," said Brown-Finnis. "They have stabilised the club. There was so much financial uncertainty when they arrived - it's felt like a turbulent time.

"We [Everton] have a stadium to be crazily proud of. It's going to generate revenue from a commercial point of view.

"If The Friedkin Group sell up tomorrow, they have left the club in a much better place. I just hope they do their due diligence.

"I hope the new owners want to drive the club forward. Everton fans have spent too much time in a financially turbulent era."

Phil McNulty
Chief football writer

Image source, Getty Images

The decision of Everton's owners The Friedkin Group (TFG), to explore selling the club comes as no great surprise after the turbulent events of recent times.

A fracture opened up between TFG and Everton's fanbase over the controversial attempt to sell highly-rated teenager Harrison Armstrong late in the transfer window, before a botched deadline day left manager David Moyes with only 18 senior outfield players.

The failed sale of Armstrong, as well as the departure of Iliman Ndiaye to Manchester City for £65m, was bolted on to a cautious approach to the markets that suggested limited ambition on the part of TFG.

It was in sharp contrast to the more hands-on approach at AS Roma, the other club owned by TFG, who bring in the additional riches of playing in the Champions League.

Moyes revealing he had never spoken to Friedkin, who has not attended an Everton game since the Scot was reappointed as manager 21 months ago, strengthened the belief among supporters that TFG were effectively absentee owners.

TFG secured a deal for 99.5% of the club, succeeding former owner Farhad Moshiri in 2024 after Everton had fallen into financial crisis.

Since then, TFG have put the club on a stable financial footing and Everton have moved into a new stadium - although this was effectively done before their takeover - and have made the club an attractive proposition to potential buyers.

This will be TFG's main achievement in what will, when Everton is sold, be regarded as an unspectacular tenure.

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Everton fan Liam Kiz from Outside The Box podcast believes Charly Alcaraz deserves more playing time because he has qualities the Toffees have been missing in the opening five games of the season.

The Argentine has featured twice this campaign from the bench but played and scored the decisive goal against Wolves in the Carabao Cup fourth round in September.

"He definitely deserves more of a chance than what he has got," Kiz told BBC Radio Merseyside. "When he came in, I remember watching him and thinking: 'We have a player on our hands here.'

"There were a couple of games where he was our best player on the pitch. He picked up a couple of injuries and it dwindled out, but he looked sharp against Wolves.

"He looks like a player who likes to pick up the ball, is aggressive and progressive going forward, and I think we miss some of that.

"Hopefully, he does get his chance in the upcoming games."

Listen to Kiz's full conversation on Alcaraz, the left-back situation and David Moyes' future by pressing play below, or listen on BBC Sounds here

Image source, Getty Images

Everton owners the Friedkin Group are exploring the sale of the club less than two years after taking control.

The Houston-based group completed a takeover of the club in 2024 in a deal believed to be worth in excess of £400m.

In a statement, TFG say after prioritising stability, investment and the opening of Everton's new stadium last year, the time is right "to consider the next chapter".

"The Friedkin Group is exploring new investment options for Everton Football Club, including the potential sale of a controlling interest," the ownership said in the statement released on Friday.

"When TFG became custodians of Everton, the Club faced significant financial uncertainty and challenges both on and off the pitch. The immediate priority was to provide the stability, investment and support needed to secure the Club's future, including helping to bring the long-promised stadium to completion for its deserving supporters.

"With that foundation now safely in place, the time is right to consider the next chapter for Everton. We will only entertain interest from parties who we strongly believe will be the right stewards to take the Club forward and build on the momentum that has been established.

"Throughout this process, TFG's focus will remain unchanged. We will support the Club in all ways necessary to achieve success on the pitch and will continue efforts to make a positive difference in the communities the Club serves.

"TFG and the Club will not be commenting further while this work is under way. Moelis & Company has been retained by TFG."

How do you feel about the Friedkin Group being open to selling so soon after their takeover? What impact will this have on the short and long-term future of the club?

Get in touch with your views here

Everton and Newcastle United are both keen on Galatasaray midfielder Gabriel Sara. The 27-year-old Brazil midfielder spent two years with Norwich City before moving to Turkey. (Webaslan), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

Just five games in, it might seem a bit early to pay much attention to the Premier League table - but it's probably more settled than you think.

If we look at the Premier League after five games last season and where teams ultimately ended up, the final table was already starting to take shape as 13 of the 20 sides finished within four places of where they sat even at this early stage (65%).

Eventual champions Arsenal were second, Sunderland were already seventh - where they finished eight months later - and two of the three sides that were relegated were already in the bottom three.

The eventual champions have been in the top two at this point in the past four campaigns, suggesting - potential punishments aside - it will be Manchester City or Arsenal that lifts the trophy.

The top end of the table overall has sometimes settled surprisingly quickly in recent years. The top eight after five games in 2024-25 finished as the top eight at the end of that season (although not in the same order), while the top six in 2019-20 and top seven in 2016-17 were also in place at this early stage.

While being top after five games has not meant much in recent seasons, being bottom certainly has.

Tottenham could well be in trouble once again as the side bottom of the Premier League after five games has been relegated in six of the past seven seasons.

Being bottom this early did not used to be such a bad omen. Between 2013-14 and 2018-19, only one of the six sides that were propping up the table after five games ended up going down - Newcastle in 2015-16 - while Crystal Palace finished as high as 11th in 2017-18.

Looking at the relegation battle more broadly, at least one of the teams in the bottom three at this stage has been relegated in the past eight seasons - so one of Tottenham, Fulham and Coventry City are very likely to be heading to the Championship in May.

The pool of contestants for this season's relegation battle may already be decided too because the three sides that ultimately went down in the past three seasons were all in the bottom six after five games, which would add Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace to the mix.

The last sides to be outside the bottom six at this point but relegated were Leeds United and Southampton in 2022-23, who were both in the top half (seventh and ninth). With their teams currently in eighth and 11th place, Hull City and Ipswich Town fans will hope that is still the case at the end of this campaign.

While the season may well have barely begun, the Premier League table is already starting to take shape.

Read the piece in full here

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The Unholy Trinity podcast's Lee Parry says David Moyes is "the right man" for what Everton "need right now".

Moyes has entered the final year of his current deal and there has been speculation surrounding his future. He also voiced his frustration at the club's lack of business bringing in players over the summer.

"There was an undercurrent of noise before the season started in terms of his contract and how we finished last season," Parry told BBC Radio Merseyside.

"But, nobody gave us a chance of finishing in Europe in that first season at the new stadium. It was all about consolidation and we came very close. We dared to dream and just fell short of it.

"There are some fans who will just never take to David after the way he left the first time round, but I am not one of those.

"Since he's come back he's very much steadied the ship, and I would say even more than that.

"He said we needed more bodies before the end of the window and we ended up with two fewer. His back is against the wall with the lack of transfers in and losing players, but I think that can suit him.

"For what we need right now, I think he is the right man. We all know the mess the club was in, particularly off the field but almost getting relegated [as well]."

Listen to the full chat below or on BBC Sounds here

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As the 2026-27 season dawned, Everton fans would be forgiven for being filled with trepidation after a poor summer transfer window.

However, five games into the Premier League campaign and yet to taste defeat has eased some of that concern around David Moyes' side.

Although Toffees skipper James Tarkowski had 146 top-flight appearances under his belt for Everton before the start of the season, questions were being asked about whether he was the right man to have a place in the starting XI.

"I'll hold my hands up, I thought maybe we should be looking at a Jarrad Branthwaite and a Jake O'Brien partnership to start the season," BBC Radio Merseyside's Phil Munns said. "David Moyes has not done that and Tarkowski has not done badly."

Toffees fan Patric Ridge would, however, prefer an O'Brien and Branthwaite partnership for "the long term" but acknowledged Tarkowski's relationship at the back with Branthwaite has been "reliable" so far this season.

"Everton have got a young and small squad, [but] you do sometimes need those elder statesmen to provide that steady hand," he said.

"To have that steady presence on the pitch, that experienced head, that really helps.

"I do think that was overlooked at the start of the season. We needed that leadership in there."

Listen to more on Tarkowski by pressing play below or on BBC Sounds here

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A number of Premier League clubs want Manchester City to be hit with both "retrospective punishments" and sanctions for the future for their mass financial rule-breaking, sources have told BBC Sport.

An independent commission found City guilty of all charges relating to breaches of the Premier League's financial regulations between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons.

City have appealed against the verdict, while the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is poised to look at the findings to see if there may be any suggestions of potential misconduct.

However, there is said to be a consensus among a group of top-flight club executives that if City's appeal is unsuccessful, the sanctions should make reparations for the period when they broke the rules, while also limiting their powers in future.

There is also a feeling from at least four Premier League boardrooms that a "one-hit" points deduction resulting in relegation to the Championship would be an insufficient punishment given the severity of City's wrongdoing.

Read more on what rival clubs want

BBC Radio Merseyside's Phil Munns has questioned whether Jack Grealish will be a nailed-on starter for Everton this season, with competition in his position from Tyrique George, Brennan Johnson and Tyler Dibling.

When Grealish signed for the club on loan from Manchester City last campaign, he hit the ground running but missed the majority of the second half of the season with a stress fracture in his foot.

The 31-year-old has only started one game for the Toffees so far this term - in the 1-0 victory over Ipswich in the last game before the international break - and the form of those playing in the same area as him has led some to question whether he will be guaranteed a spot in the starting XI throughout the campaign.

Speaking on BBC Radio Merseyside's Toffees Unwrapped, Munns said: "I think many people would assume that Jack Grealish will be in the starting XI whenever he is fit and available - should he be, though?

"Based on the quality we've seen so far this season from the likes of Tyrique George, I know he can play left or right, Dibling, we've only really seen on the right, Grealish, we only really see on the left but people think he could have a role in the middle as a 10. There's a lot of moving parts that would have to happen, that's Dewsbury-Hall's position.

"I do wonder if Jack Grealish will be an automatic starter for Everton this season."

Co-host Mike Hughes responded: "I think he probably will for the most part, and I think that's a good thing.

"What I do think is there were periods when Jack Grealish was fabulous for Everton in the first part of last season. He played virtually no part of the second part of last season because of injury, but I think there were occasions when Jack Grealish could've done with a rest in the first half of the season.

"He had a few matches where he was a little bit, by his standards, quite dull, not able to contribute in the way that we've come to expect of him, the type of footballer that he is. That's something that David Moyes is going to have that would be advantageous for him, advantageous for Tyrique George, Tyler Dibling, and Brennan Johnson."

Listen to the clip above by pressing play or find the full episode of Toffees Unwrapped on BBC Sounds here

On the latest Toffees Unwrapped podcast, BBC Radio Merseyside's Phil Munns, Mike Hughes and Ian Kennedy discuss selection dilemmas at left back and on the wings.

Plus, the team celebrates the return of the Premier League following the extended international break as the Toffees get back to action with a trip away to Hull City.

Listen to the podcast in full by pressing play below or on BBC Sounds here