Everton's Disappointing Deadline Day: Balogun Deal Falls Through

David Moyes wore the look of a man who had planned a very different deadline day.

The Everton manager admitted he will "have to live with disappointments" after a frantic window closed with as many misses as hits for the club.

Balogun deal collapses late

The most painful blow came with Folarin Balogun.

Everton thought they had their man. A £40m fee agreed with Monaco, the 25-year-old United States international at Finch Farm, medical done, paperwork pushed through with a deal sheet before the 23:00 BST cut-off to buy precious extra time.

Then it fell apart.

Issues flagged in Balogun’s medical forced Everton and Monaco back to the table to renegotiate the terms. As the clock ticked and the deal hung in the balance, the striker changed his mind and walked away.

"It wasn't anyone's fault and ultimately it happens in football as the player had a problem in his medical and that was simply it," Moyes said. "There are no other stories behind it. That is exactly what happened."

The collapse left Everton short of the extra firepower Moyes had wanted to add after already bringing in Beto earlier in the window, only for the Guinea-Bissau forward to move on to Fiorentina in Serie A.

Targets turn away

Balogun was not the only forward Everton chased without reward.

The club held talks over Manchester United’s Joshua Zirkzee and Aston Villa striker Tammy Abraham, but neither could be persuaded to make the move to Goodison Park. Both pursuits fizzled out, leaving Moyes frustrated at the lack of attacking reinforcements.

"I am disappointed that we didn't do more business and things didn't go our way in the end," he said. "Sometimes in football you have to live with disappointments and move on, and we will."

Grealish in, Ndiaye out

There was at least one marquee arrival.

Everton secured Jack Grealish on a season-long loan from Manchester City, a statement signing designed to inject creativity and flair into Moyes’ attack. Yet that boost came on the same day the club lost one of their most influential players.

Iliman Ndiaye, a crowd favourite and key attacking outlet, completed a £65m move to City. The Senegal international leaves behind a record of 15 goals and four assists in 67 Premier League appearances for the Toffees.

Moyes admitted the sale was part of a wider plan to reshape the squad.

"We were looking to get some money in," he said. "We lost Iliman Ndiaye, which is someone who we definitely didn't want to lose, but sometimes it is difficult when the likes of Man City come along."

The reality of modern football bit hard. To fund new faces, Everton had to sacrifice one of their best.

Defensive plans hit and miss

At the back, it was a similar story of near-misses and late scrambles.

Everton pushed to bring in Kenny Tete from Fulham, only for that move to fall through when Fulham failed to secure a replacement. The London club held their ground, and Tete stayed put.

The Toffees did manage to land Ainsley Maitland-Niles from Lyon in a £3m deal. The versatile right-back offers Moyes another option in defence and midfield, but he arrived as part of a window that never quite matched its ambition.

"Some things went against us and some things we could have done better," Moyes reflected. "Ultimately we didn't want to lose a lot of the different players but for reasons that had to happen."

Deadline day left Everton with Grealish’s star quality, Maitland-Niles’ versatility, and a sizeable hole where Ndiaye and a would-be new striker were supposed to be. Moyes now has to turn that imperfect hand into a functioning, competitive side — or risk this window being remembered for what slipped away rather than what arrived.