Transfer photo sends message to Everton owners The Friedkin Group after David Moyes claim

Everton are yet to sign anyone in the January transfer window but David Moyes has delivered his thoughts on owners The Friedkin Group

The sight of Jack Harrison undergoing a medical at Fiorentina should be a message to Everton over where they should be sitting in The Friedkin Group food chain alongside their American owners’ other major European football club, Roma.

Harrison, whose grasp of Spanish enabled him to become a close friend of Charly Alcaraz when he signed for the Blues in January, helping the Argentinian to integrate into life on Merseyside, is a model professional. His attitude is always right, and he was humble and honest about his own shortcomings when this correspondent last spoke to him after he netted what proved to be his only goal of last season in the 1-1 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux on March 8 last year.

The Stoke-on-Trent-born player said: “It’s been very frustrating all season. I’ve been working really hard to try and get off the mark and have some good performances.

“Sometimes you just need a bit of luck. I feel I’ve not quite hit the level I wanted this season.

“I still think I’m a few levels away from where I can perform. But it’s definitely been a positive step in the right direction and hopefully I can keep building on these performances.”

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Harrison, who played college soccer in the USA for Wake Forest Demon Deacons before launching his professional career, had been employing a Miami-based trainer to try and improve his game, alongside working closely with Billy McKinlay and Leighton Baines on David Moyes’ coaching staff. But the stark truth was, that solitary strike in 2024/25 – fellow loan man Jesper Lindstrom didn’t find the net at all for the second straight season – was not good enough for an attack-minded player who had scored four times for Everton in the previous campaign.

Perhaps, Harrison peaked too early at Goodison Park with a spectacular strike and an assist in the 3-0 home win over Bournemouth in his first Premier League start? The fact that he returned to Leeds United last summer on their return to the top flight, but was unable to break into Daniel Farke’s starting line-up gave an indication of the levels he’s been operating at.

Many of the Elland Road faithful didn’t seem to forgive him for spending a couple of years out on loan at Goodison Park while their side were languishing in the Championship and after being a target of the boo boys at the Yorkshire outfit, Harrison will be looking to rebuild his career in Tuscany. The 29-year-old is set to complete a loan move until the end of the season with the option to buy for £6million in the summer.

What is telling is that almost 30 years on, that’s a lower figure than Fiorentina paid for another right winger to turn out for Everton, Andrei Kanchelskis. The flying Russian international took a while to get going at Goodison Park when his club record £5million move from Manchester United was delayed over payment issues to previous side Shakhtar Donetsk, ensuring he missed the registration deadline for that season’s European competitions and he then suffered a shoulder injury against the Red Devils, following a challenge from Lee Sharpe in just his third game, but he soon made up for lost time.

Breaking his scoring duck with a brace at Anfield to inspire a 2-1 Merseyside Derby win away to Liverpool, Kanchelskis would register 16 times that term as Joe Royle’s side finished sixth to record their only top half placing in the first decade of the Premier League. But his time with the Blues was fleeting and midway through the following season, he was sold to I Viola for £8million.

Back then it was routine for the world’s top talents to head to Serie A. Back in the 1990s, the likes of David Platt, Paul Gascoigne and Des Walker had all been enticed to Italy for big fees and wages.

From the time that Swedish centre-forward Hans Jeppson, formerly of Charlton Athletic, moved from Atalanta to Napoli for £52,000 in 1952 until Newcastle United brought Alan Shearer back home from Blackburn Rovers for £15million some 44 years later, only Barcelona’s purchases of Johan Cruyff (£922,000 in 1973); Diego Maradona (£3million in 1982) and Ronaldo (£13.2million in 1996) were able to prise the transfer world record away from Italian clubs. But after several decades of financial dominance, it was a title last held a generation ago in 2000 when Hernan Crespo moved from Parma to Lazio for £35.5million.

These days, thanks to the huge revenues generated by television deals, even lesser lights in the Premier League can outspend the likes of AC Milan who used to dominate proceedings on and off the pitch across Europe. So, it’s curious to see Roma doing bits in the January transfer window while Everton are still waiting.

I Giallorossi have splashed out almost £22million on Aston Villa’s Donyell Malen with head coach Gian Piero Gasperini declaring: “It was possible thanks to Ryan Friedkin’s presence – in three days we closed the deal.” Dan Friedkin still hasn’t watched an Everton game at either Goodison Park or Hill Dickinson Stadium but despite being in the UK to finish his play his final round at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland on (where son Ryan also took part), he eschewed the opportunity to take in the Blues’ match against Crystal Palace the next day – as Moyes’ men recorded a dramatic 2-1 comeback win over the FA Cup holders for what was the first stoppage time victory at their new home – to instead fly out to Rome for the 32nd General Assembly of the European Club Association.

While on that trip, Friedkin senior was photographed shaking hands with Gasperini and player Stephan El Shaarawy at the club’s Centro Sportivo Fulvio Bernardini training base. As senior insiders have pointed out, there are representatives of TFG at every Everton fixture and running the club on a daily basis – but such behaviour is in stark contrast to his hands off approach so far with the Blues.

TFG have owned since 2020 and currently sit fifth in Serie A, so they’re further along with their project but nevertheless, Moyes believes the club’s American owners will give him the financial backing he needs if he is able to convince the right individuals to join them this month. Speaking in his pre-match press conference to preview Everton’s trip to Aston Villa on Sunday, the 62-year-old said: “All managers, we’re all hoping to get bigger numbers, but I think the club have outlined we spent in the summer, that was the main part. It’s not me who’s is saying it, the CEO is saying it as well that we don’t expect to be doing too much business, so that’s where we are with it really.

“I think we had about 12 or 13 players out of contract in the summer, so it’s been quite a big turnaround already. If I can get a couple of players in, the club will certainly back me, I’ve got no doubt about that, they’ve been really good.

“Maybe they can’t back me on a £60million or £70million signing but they’ll back me on what they’d think would be the right numbers if we can come up with the players required.”

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