Every time Everton scrambled away from the most damning of danger, it felt like little more than a stay of execution over these past few years. Relegation, some have felt, was an inexorable certainty, a matter of time, not one of possibility.
But the trammels of Farhad Moshiri’s ownership, the weight of Sean Dyche‘s outmoded football, have been taken away from a proud club that is now taking sure-footed steps toward a new beginning.
David Moyes returned after so many years away and has since led Everton away from the Premier League danger zone, unbeaten in six having won four.
Remarkably, a previously dusty frontline has been revived. It felt like wholesale changes were needed for such a thing, but Moyes has unlocked long-dormant confidence and breathed fresh life into Goodison Park in its swansong.
It’s been a while since the Toffees have felt such excitement, with Richarlison‘s sale, while financially beneficial, taking a chunk from the Blue Merseysiders firepower.
Why Everton have missed Richarlison
After a promising breakout campaign with Watford, Brazilian prospect Richarlison signed for Everton in a deal worth £40m in July 2018, where he would remain for four campaigns.
Richarlison’s stock has never been as high as when he plied his trade at Goodison Park, described as being “among the best forwards” by former boss Carlo Ancelotti.
His thorny and robust presence at Everton eventually led Tottenham Hotspur to fork out £60m for the international, who left Everton having scored 53 goals and added 13 assists across 152 fixtures.
|
Richarlison: Premier League Career by Season |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Season |
Club |
Apps (starts) |
Goals |
Assists |
|
24/25 |
Tottenham |
9 (2) |
2 |
1 |
|
23/24 |
Tottenham |
28 (18) |
11 |
4 |
|
22/23 |
Tottenham |
27 (12) |
1 |
4 |
|
21/22 |
Everton |
30 (28) |
10 |
5 |
|
20/21 |
Everton |
34 (33) |
7 |
3 |
|
19/20 |
Everton |
36 (36) |
13 |
3 |
|
18/19 |
Everton |
35 (32) |
13 |
1 |
|
17/18 |
Watford |
38 (32) |
5 |
4 |
|
Stats via Transfermarkt |
||||
His time at Tottenham has been a largely unsuccessful stint, lashed by a series of injury setbacks and limited to a bit-part role under Ange Postecoglou, albeit improving after a woeful first season that saw him score only against Liverpool in a defeat at Anfield.
Everton have longed for a forward of his calibre over these past few years. Well, now they’ve got one.
Moyes has found Everton’s next Richarlison
Iliman Ndiaye is probably Everton’s flashiest and most exciting forward, and indeed, the left winger has been a revelation at the club this season, but the man in question here is none other than Beto.
The Guinea Bissau international looked destined for an ultimate departure with the brand of a flop after failing to kick on under Dyche, who signed the striker from Italian club Udinese for a £30m fee in August 2023, 13 months after Richarlison left for the capital.
Last season was one of frustration for Beto, scoring only three goals across 30 Premier League games, starting nine. However, the 27-year-old is a man reborn in Moyes’ system, with the Scottish tactician instantly seeing the potential of this powerful number nine, coaxing him into the limelight.
Now, he’s flying, with five goals in his past four top-flight fixtures. Not just a strong focal point, Beto has been praised by reporter Sam Tighe in the past for his uncanny ability to “spook defenders” and he’s now merged that with ball-striking confidence on Merseyside.
His muscular presence and pacy movements do the trick. Beto actually ranks among the top 4% of Premier League forwards this season for goals scored and the top 9% for successful take-ons per 90, as per FBref. This combination is perhaps why the 6 foot 4 star is “thriving” under new management, as says The Athletic’s Paddy Boyland.
A successful take-on is recorded when a player beats their opponent by directly carrying the ball past them while retaining possession.
He’s also the first Everton player since Richarlison to score in four successive league games, who achieved the feat in March 2021.
Richarlison’s big-game energy has been reborn through Beto’s upswing in form. Moreover, there are statistical similarities between the players, with Richarlison ranking among the top 17% of forwards across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for progressive carries made per 90.
Everton are new and improved, but there’s a pleasing bit of circularity about Beto emerging with similar striking success to Richarlison. Things, truly, are looking up.
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