5 players Everton could buy this summer to succeed next year

Everton have plenty of work to do in order to get their squad up to where it needs to be to compete in the Premier League next season.

This plan could go a long way toward turning Everton into a better team than they were last year.

1. RW/RWB Timothy Weah (Juventus)

Recent reports have linked USMNT star Timothy Weah to the Toffees after his Nottingham Forest transfer collapsed.

Weah played a plethora of positions for Juventus this past season but was primarily deployed as both a right wing back and a right winger, which is why whenever you look at his stats on fbref.com, they are very skewed depending on what positional group you're comparing him to.

Weah is the literal definition of a Swiss Army knife, and although he isn't elite in any position, he's well above average at plenty.

His price wouldn't be too outlandish either. £15m is close to the player's value, and if Everton are looking to invest even further into other positions, Weah checks all the boxes at right wing while also not breaking the bank.

2. RB Kenny Tete (free agent)

Kenny Tete is one of the better free fullback options around, and although he had a verbal agreement with Everton, Fulham have been trying to convince Tete to return to their club with an improved financial offer.

If Tete sticks with Everton, then it'll be a massive help to a position that needs it. Everton have brought back Seamus Coleman for another season, but he'll most likely be an emergency option at center back and full back, meaning that Nathan Patterson and Jake O'Brien (who is more comfortable as a center back) are the only two options at the right back position at the club worthy of minutes.

Adding Tete would not only let O'Brien become a valuable depth option at center back, but he'd also be an upgrade over Patterson, who could either go out on loan or fight for some minutes off the bench.

Offensively, Tete is comfortable overlapping and taking touches in the attacking third, which is something that wasn't prevalent in the past few seasons at the right back position aside from Patterson.

3. CM/CDM Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City)

We recently covered Ndidi in a previous article, and out of all of the CM's linked to Everton as of late, Ndidi is definitely one of the more realistic players who could join.

His release clause is only £9 million, and he's still 28. While he by himself wouldn't move the needle too much, I believe surrounding him with players who can make forward runs will truly maximize his abilities.

He would also provide some depth at the center back position if needed and could be used as a rotational piece rather than a full-on starter.

If Everton could negotiate a better fee for Ndidi, around the £7-8 million range, then getting his signature would make a lot of sense. His defensive stats look really good, and his passing efficiency isn't that high, but both of these observations could be skewed because of his role as a sweeper in a struggling Leicester City squad.

4. Thierno Barry (Villareal)

Thierno Barry has been one of the players most heavily linked with the Toffees and would probably be the most expensive signing of the summer transfer window if Everton do pull the trigger.

Everything about this guy screams future superstar. From his lengthy frame to his excellent xG numbers at only 22, the stats don't do justice to the type of player he is.

Some cynical fans may argue that investing more than €30 million into a player that doesn't address a direct position of need is blasphemous. I'm 90% confident that those people haven't seen Barry play a full match.

He's not the type of player you buy to provide stellar numbers right now. You buy this guy to develop him into a superstar in 2-3 years, and I'm confident he will turn into a top-tier striker for Everton as long as they don't pressure him to provide instantly.

5. LB/LM John Tolkin (Holstein Kiel)

This one may be a bit of a hot take, but Everton are in desperate need of some left back depth, and Tolkin, an American, could be a cheap option with high upside for the future.

For the American readers, he's a New York Red Bulls product who found his way to the Bundesliga this past season and looked pretty good for Holstein Kiel. His physicality is a big question mark, but he'd be more than capable of playing in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup.

Vitalii Mykolenko is currently the only left back on the roster, and adding Tolkin would provide some security as well as offensive impact off the bench, which is something that this team could use.

One aspect of his game that is going unoticed is his defensive improvement since moving to Europe. With Holstein Kiel, Tolkin had to play more compact and defensive than when he was at NYRB, and although he wasn't perfect, he was more than serviceable. His newfound flexibility could be valuable as a new era begins at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Our friends at The Blue Frontier also added him as a possible LB signing this summer, so maybe this idea isn't so outlandish after all.

Total Transfer Price (Est): €66-70 million

Adding this combination of players wouldn't be cheap, but with new owners and the financial troubles beginning to wane, this amount of cash for five players is what most would consider a healthy investment.

Players like Tolkin, Ndidi, and Tete are cheap options that can provide cover at key positions, and the combination of Weah and Barry would inject some youth and star power to an offense that already has a couple of exciting pieces like Charly Alcaraz and Ndiaye.

If Everton are able to sprinkle in a few loan deals for depth, I think they'll be set to improve on what was a bipolar 2024-2025 season.