Everton's strikers are being starved, not wasteful

David Moyes is hunting for a striker in January, with Real Sociedad's Orri Oskarsson on his radar. But Everton's problems run deeper than a missing No 9. The midfield is a vacuum — it neither shields the defence nor supplies the attack. Signing a striker without fixing it is football's version of buying a new front door while the roof caves in.

History says midfields win relegation battles

Look at Everton's own past. In 1997-98, they survived on the final day thanks to a midfield built on the snarling presence of Don Hutchison and the grit of John Collins. In 2022-23, their escape under Sean Dyche was powered by the midfield axis of Idrissa Gueye and Amadou Onana — athletes who covered ground and won second balls. That season, Everton ranked fifth in the Premier League for tackles won in midfield (per Opta). Last season, they ranked 17th.

Compare that to the teams around them now. Nottingham Forest, widely tipped for relegation, survive because of a functional midfield trio that screens the back four and launches quick transitions. Everton, by contrast, have a midfield that is neither destructive nor creative. They rank 18th for progressive passes from central midfield and 16th for pressures in the middle third. The result is a team that neither keeps the ball nor wins it back quickly.

The midfield is neither shield nor springboard

Everton's current midfield options — Gueye, James Garner, Abdoulaye Doucouré, and the perennially injured Dele Alli — offer no coherent blend. Gueye, at 35, cannot cover the ground he once did. Doucouré is a box-to-box runner without the discipline to sit. Garner is a tidy passer but lacks the physicality to anchor. The result is a midfield that is easily bypassed and offers little resistance.

When Moyes arrived, he promised to make Everton "hard to beat." That requires a midfield that protects the defence. But Everton concede more shots from central areas than any other team outside the bottom three. The defensive line is exposed repeatedly because the midfield fails to track runners or close down space. This is not a defensive problem — it is a structural failure in front of them.

  • No press resistance: Everton's midfielders are dispossessed more often than any other unit in the league (16.3 times per game), leading to dangerous turnovers.
  • No line-breaking passes: Only 28% of Everton's passes into the final third come from central midfield, the second-lowest proportion in the league.
  • No legs: Gueye and Doucouré have started together in 11 matches this season; Everton have won just two of them.

The counter-argument: it's the strikers, stupid

Critics point to Everton's goalscoring woes — only 15 goals in 20 games, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin misfiring and Beto failing to adapt. They argue that a proven finisher would transform the team. But that ignores the supply line. Everton's expected goals (xG) per game is 1.1 — 16th in the league. A striker can only convert the chances created; Everton's midfield is not creating enough. Oskarsson or any other striker would be feeding on scraps.

Furthermore, the best strikers drop deep to link play. Everton's midfield rarely finds those runs because it lacks the vision and composure to pick the pass. The problem is not the finishing; it is the creation. Without a midfield that can progress the ball, Everton will remain a blunt instrument.

Verdict: Everton will be dragged into a relegation fight unless Moyes fixes the middle

This is not a quick fix. Moyes needs to sign a defensive midfielder with legs and a progressive passer — not another striker. If Everton fail to sign a midfielder in January and persist with the current blend, they will be in the bottom three by March. Bookmark this: Everton will not score more than one goal in any of their next five league matches unless they change their midfield structure. The problem is not up front; it is in the middle.

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