Everton's Wide Rebuild: Moyes Faces Major Changes

Everton’s flanks are being ripped up and rewritten. David Moyes spent most of last season trusting Dwight McNeil on the right and Iliman Ndiaye on the left. That pairing may already belong to the past.

McNeil is on his way to Crystal Palace, part of a revived swap that now involves Brennan Johnson, while Al Hilal’s interest in Ndiaye threatens to remove the other half of Moyes’ wide axis. For a manager who likes structure and reliability, his opening-day wingers could be almost unrecognisable.

A wide rebuild, ready or not

The McNeil situation has been simmering for months. The 26-year-old was close to Selhurst Park in February, a loan-to-buy deal agreed that would have turned into a £20m permanent move this summer. He had passed a medical. Bags almost packed. Then the clock beat the paperwork.

The collapse of that deal left scars. His partner, Megan Sharpley, voiced the emotional toll on social media, questioning how a game so aware of mental health issues could still treat players as if their feelings were collateral.

"To have something promised to you, to have been dragged along on an emotional rollercoaster and to be toyed with until the final minute," she wrote, before describing how it was torn away at the last second with "absolutely no explanation".

Now the move has been dragged back from the brink, this time with Johnson involved in the exchange. McNeil finally appears set to get the move that slipped away in winter. Everton, in turn, lose a dependable outlet but gain a different profile of wide threat, assuming the deal crosses the line.

Ndiaye, meanwhile, is being courted from afar. Interest from Al Hilal means Moyes cannot plan with complete certainty. The left flank that once felt settled now feels temporary.

Internal answers or another gamble?

Moyes does not step into this rebuild empty‑handed. There are internal options, though each comes with its own asterisk.

Jack Grealish is the obvious headline name. On loan from Manchester City last season, he produced real quality across his 22 appearances, especially in the first half of the campaign. Then a foot injury in January cut him down just as he had found rhythm and influence. A return would change the entire feel of Everton’s wide play, but nothing is guaranteed. For now, it is possibility, not plan.

Tyler Dibling is the curiosity. Signed for £40m from Southampton last summer, he spent his first season largely in the shadows. Only four Premier League starts, his path blocked once Grealish arrived and took ownership of the role he might have grown into. A transitional year, and a costly one for a club that needs its big investments to deliver.

Yet this is where opportunity lives. With McNeil moving on and Ndiaye’s future uncertain, Dibling suddenly has a clear lane if he can convince Moyes he is ready to step out of the wilderness.

On the opposite flank, Tyrique George offers a different kind of hope. Brought in permanently from Chelsea for £24m after a successful loan spell on Merseyside, he already has credit in the bank with his manager. Eleven appearances, just one start, but enough to impress Moyes, who labelled him "an excellent boy with an excellent work-rate" after that initial four‑month stint.

Those are the kind of words that matter in tight selection calls. George has shown he will run, press, and listen. In a Moyes team, that is not a bad place to start.

Merlin Rohl sits slightly further back in the queue. He has filled in out wide on occasion, another flexible piece rather than a specialist. If Moyes wants solidity and structure while the market swirls around him, Rohl’s versatility could buy time.

What does Moyes actually do?

Strip it back, and Everton’s wide picture looks like this: the established pair are edging towards the exit, the marquee loanee is a maybe, and the big-money youngsters are still unproven over a full Premier League season.

Moyes can lean into youth and energy with Dibling and George. He can push for Grealish and re‑anchor the attack around his guile. He can use Rohl to steady things while the recruitment department works.

But what he cannot do is roll out the same old names and hope continuity carries Everton through. That option is gone.

The wings at Goodison are about to tell a new story. The only question is whether it is written by returning stars, emerging talents, or a late twist in the transfer window.