Everton Near Deal for Tyrique George as Chelsea Restructures Squad

Everton are closing on a deal to bring Tyrique George back to Merseyside, this time for good, as Chelsea continue to strip back an overloaded squad under Xabi Alonso.

The 20-year-old winger, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Goodison Park, had an option-to-buy clause set at £25m. Everton have gone back to the table and reshaped that agreement, switching the straight fee into a package built around add-ons. The numbers change, but the intention is clear: they want him.

George’s raw output – 11 appearances, just one start – hardly screams marquee signing. Yet those four months told David Moyes enough. The Everton manager publicly lauded the youngster in May, calling him “an excellent boy” with an “excellent work-rate” when asked about a permanent move before the final game of the season. Managers choose their words carefully at that stage of a campaign. Moyes was signposting the club’s plans.

Everton’s summer, though, is not about one winger. While the George deal edges towards completion, the club are also finalising a £16m move for Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney, a player seen as capable of knitting together Moyes’ midfield for the long haul.

Merlin Rohl, who quietly impressed on loan from SC Freiburg last season, is set to make his stay permanent as well. The attacking midfielder offered guile and energy in flashes; now he becomes part of the core. At the same time, two long-serving figures have stepped away. Idrissa Gana Gueye and Seamus Coleman have both departed at the end of their contracts, signalling the end of an era and underlining the scale of the refresh underway.

For George, this move has been a long time coming. A product of Chelsea’s academy, he has effectively been in the shop window for a year. He held talks with RB Leipzig last summer, a move that would have taken him into the Bundesliga’s talent factory. Then came deadline day drama in September 2025, when a £22m switch to Fulham collapsed late in the window. The path out of Stamford Bridge has never been straightforward.

Now, with Everton pushing to secure him permanently, the timing finally aligns. A manager who trusts him, a fanbase that has seen glimpses of what he can offer, and a squad being reshaped to give younger players greater responsibility.

On the other side of the deal, Chelsea’s motives are just as clear.

Alonso has walked into a club that finished 10th in the Premier League and missed out on European football. That means fewer matches, less broadcast and matchday income, and a squad far too bloated for a season without continental commitments. Chelsea remain under a Uefa settlement agreement for the next three seasons after breaching financial regulations last summer. The margin for error is gone. Player sales are not a choice; they are a necessity.

The recruitment has not stopped, though. Chelsea have already brought in Marco Palestra from Atalanta and are still tracking Crystal Palace’s Maxence Lacroix, Como’s Jacobo Ramon and Rayo Vallecano full-back Pep Chavarria. It is a familiar Chelsea pattern: buy aggressively, then sell hard.

The exit list underlines that reality. Real Madrid have set their sights on Enzo Fernandez, while Como and Inter Milan are among the clubs interested in Trevoh Chalobah. The futures of Benoit Badiashile, Tosin Adarabioyo and Wesley Fofana are also unresolved, and questions linger over forwards Alejandro Garnacho and Liam Delap.

For Everton, George represents a calculated bet: a young winger with Premier League minutes, a manager’s backing and a point to prove after a year of near-moves and dead ends. For Chelsea, he is part of the necessary trimming of a squad built at breakneck speed and high cost.

One club builds around him. The other moves on from him. The coming season will show who read the moment better.