David Moyes fears 'time is running out' for Everton to improve their squad | OneFootball

David Moyes has admitted that "time is running out" for Everton to complete the number of signings he believes are needed ahead of the new Premier League season.

Speaking during Everton's pre-season tour in the United States, the Scot expressed frustration at the club’s transfer struggles, with just over three weeks remaining before their opening fixture away at Leeds United on August 18.

At the beginning of the summer, Moyes said he was targeting nine or ten new players. However, only four arrivals have been confirmed so far, the latest being teenage left-back Adam Aznou from Bayern Munich.

“We’ve got huge priorities as far as where we would like to try and buy the players if we could do,” Moyes told The Times. “But also we’ve got a numbers situation as well — we’re short in numbers. We’re trying to get the pieces we really want first, and that’s what we’ve been fighting to do.”

He added: “We’re just beginning to think, my goodness, we’re just not getting enough over the line. We are actively working — it’s not as if we’re a club who are waiting to sell a player before we can bring one in. That’s not really the situation. We’ve got money to spend, and we’ll have to try and spend it wisely.”

Aznou, 19, joined Everton on a four-year deal and becomes their fourth signing of the summer following goalkeeper Mark Travers, striker Thierno Barry — a £27.5 million arrival from Villarreal — and the permanent signing of midfielder Carlos Alcaraz.

While Moyes welcomed Aznou’s potential, he cautioned against immediate expectations: “This boy’s a young boy, maybe not quite ready yet, but we hope he will be shortly. Technically he’s very good, athletic, but might need a bit to get himself built up for the Premier League. So we won’t be putting him under any pressure.”

Everton’s need for reinforcements has been sharpened by the departure of five senior players, including striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin and midfielder Abdoulaye Doucouré, whose contracts were not renewed.

“We’re desperate to get things moving on,” Moyes admitted. “We’ve probably had since the last game of the season — five, six weeks, maybe more — and we’ve got to start getting moving, because it won’t be long until it’s a bit close to the end of the window.”

Everton’s first home match at their new stadium will be against Brighton & Hove Albion on August 24.

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