Everton eye £44m Roque as Moyes weighs fee risk

Everton eye £44m striker as Moyes weighs fee risk, because the front line has almost no cover after Beto’s departure and a failed deadline‑day deal for Folarin Balogun. Striker Should Moyes Risk the fee? A 1‑0 league win and a 3‑1 Carabao Cup victory over Newcastle have lifted spirits, with seventh place adding momentum. The club’s push for European football under David Moyes makes the shortage harder to ignore.

Squad depth concerns

Everton sold Beto to Fiorentina for £15m in the summer and have been left with only Thierno Barry as the recognised centre‑forward. Barry, 23, is contracted until June 2029 and has scored four league goals and eight in all competitions this season, becoming indispensable. The only internal alternative, 18‑year‑old academy forward Braiden Graham, whose contract runs until June 2027, has little senior experience, meaning an injury to Barry would leave Moyes without a credible replacement. Moyes expects his forwards to press centre‑backs, work hard without the ball and attack space quickly on turnovers.

Roque as potential solution

Sport Witness, citing Brazilian insider Diego Firmino, says Everton have joined Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham in monitoring Palmeiras striker Vitor Roque ahead of a possible 2027 move. Palmeiras value Roque at £44m and his contract runs until December 2029, with Barcelona retaining a 20 per cent sell‑on clause after paying £25.5m for 80 per cent of his economic rights. Roque’s 2026 return has seen his output drop to nine goals and one assist in 39 appearances, down from 20 goals and five assists in 51 matches in 2025, after a left‑ankle surgery that kept him out from April to July. His pressing, pace and willingness to run suit Moyes, and a fit version could complement Barry rather than replace him, but the fee and sell‑on clause make a discount unlikely.

The Friedkin Group must protect Everton’s European ambitions by first adding an experienced, available centre‑forward, with Roque remaining on the shortlist while Barry cannot continue to carry the attack alone. Until a credible replacement is secured, the club risks jeopardising its push for Europe.