Everton's David Moyes Faces Challenges with Squad Depth and Injuries

David Moyes is trying to keep calm, but the frustration is starting to show.

The Everton manager admitted the club did not anticipate such a long lay-off for one of their signings, who is still yet to train properly.

“I don't think we expected his recovery to take this long when we signed him,” Moyes said. “We are looking forward to gaining his experience, but we haven't even had him on the grass yet. It is disappointing - for us and for him - but hopefully it won't be too long.”

While one player remains stuck on the treatment table, another is edging back towards centre stage.

Grealish close to first start since January

Jack Grealish, Moyes insists, is not a player who can be eased in gently.

The Everton boss described him as “a boy who needs football matches more than he needs training”, hinting that the midfielder could be handed his first start since January this weekend.

Moyes did not hide his anticipation.

“It will be incredibly exciting to have him in our starting line-up,” he said. “If he gives us what he gave us at the start of last season, we will be thrilled.”

Grealish’s return would add a spark to a side that has quietly put together an unbeaten start to the season, even if Moyes is not entirely satisfied with how it looks on paper.

Unbeaten, but not quite enough

Everton have yet to lose in the league, a platform any manager would usually welcome. Moyes does, but only up to a point.

That run is “pleasing in some aspects”, he admitted, but he quickly added that he “would have liked to get another win rather than a draw somewhere along the way”.

He did, though, make sure to credit his squad for how they have handled the opening stretch, saying they had done “a really good job”.

The story behind that togetherness

Everton are operating with a lean squad, and Moyes sees a clear connection between that and the unity in the dressing room.

“You only have to look at Leicester City's title-winning squad to see how their small group of players thrived,” he said. The challenge, he pointed out, comes with the volume of fixtures: “It's the amount of games which means you need the extra players, but we don't have European football this year so maybe we can find a way of getting through with what we've got.”

Even so, he did not pretend this was his preferred scenario. Asked what he would choose, Moyes was blunt: he would rather have had “more numbers” this season.

His ideal? “21 outfield players” instead of the 18 currently available.

That gap has pushed Everton towards the free agent market, though Moyes is under no illusions about how difficult it is to find value there.

He confirmed the club are exploring options, with the possibility of bolstering the squad, but warned that “it isn't easy to find a player who could make a difference” at Premier League level.

Tottenham test and an eye on the break

Next up is Tottenham, still searching for their first league goal and win of the campaign. Moyes knows that kind of pressure all too well.

“It wasn't too long ago that we were in those situations as a club,” he said. “We know we can only look after ourselves. We didn't quite make it over the line there a couple of months ago, so hopefully we do it this time.”

Looming just beyond that fixture is a two-week international break that Moyes views with some concern.

He called it “difficult for everybody to manage” and spelled out why: “There will be a lot of players who will end up playing a lot more minutes than others and injuries could be a problem as well. We've got to hope that our boys do play a bit, but maybe not all of the games.”

Between an under-sized squad, a key signing still sidelined and Grealish on the brink of a first start in months, Everton head into the Tottenham game walking a tightrope. The question now is whether that thin group can keep balancing results, fitness and momentum once the season’s schedule starts to bite.