Everton Round-Up, Thursday 12th November: Momiki Hat-Trick, De Bruyne Links and Moyes Attacking Plans Dominate the Agenda
Everton Women were the big story of the week after Yuka Momiki came off the bench to score a second-half hat-trick in a 6-0 thrashing of Durham at Goodison Park, making it four wins from four in the Subway Players Cup (EvertonFC.com) (Royal Blue Mersey) (Read Everton). Scott Phelan's side will carry that momentum into Saturday's Women's Super League trip to face Spurs (EvertonFC.com), before a League Cup visit to Manchester United the following Wednesday.
There's plenty of transfer chatter swirling around Kevin De Bruyne, with reports suggesting interest in a January move to Everton is building, though TeamTalk say the Napoli and Manchester City legend is highly unlikely to actually join the Toffees (Royal Blue Mersey) (TeamTalk). Elsewhere, ToffeeWeb note that Everton have been linked with Coventry City's Jack Rudoni after the Blues faced him at Hill Dickinson Stadium, though they suggest the speculation has largely been driven by clickbait sites rather than concrete interest (ToffeeWeb).
David Moyes has been a major talking point, with former players lining up to discuss his methods during the international break. Joleon Lescott, who was signed by Moyes during his first spell in charge back in 2006, has opened up on his time under the Scot. Kevin Kilbane believes Moyes wants to get the fundamentals right while still playing attacking football, pointing to the Leighton Baines and Steven Pienaar partnership from Moyes' first spell as evidence he can build an entertaining side despite his defensive reputation (Read Everton). Jermaine Beckford also reflected on how tough but effective Moyes could be, saying it made him rethink his own game for the better (Liverpool Echo). Elsewhere, Michael Ball discussed breaking through at Everton and suggested young players generally don't get enough opportunities (Royal Blue Mersey).
On the international front, Thomas Tuchel has confirmed Jordan Pickford remains England's first-choice goalkeeper heading into the Nations League clash with Croatia, despite having considered handing James Trafford a chance (Read Everton). Pickford, Jarrad Branthwaite and James Garner were all named in the squad for that Wembley fixture (Read Everton). Meanwhile, a former England international has suggested Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall should switch allegiance to the Republic of Ireland after being overlooked again by Tuchel (Liverpool Echo).
Duncan Ferguson has praised Thierno Barry's improvement in front of goal, admitting he didn't expect the striker to be scoring so regularly after a tough opening season at the club (Read Everton). Jarrad Branthwaite, meanwhile, has tipped 19-year-old Harrison Armstrong as a future Everton star, joking that the teenager might already think he's arrived (Read Everton). ToffeeWeb also highlighted that James Tarkowski missed out on The Athletic's list of the 50 best Premier League players despite three of his Everton teammates making the cut, arguing the defender has nonetheless proved himself a leader at the club (ToffeeWeb).
In a behind-closed-doors friendly at Hill Dickinson Stadium, Everton beat Derby County 4-1, with Christian Norgaard, Charly Alcaraz and 16-year-old Jonathan Nsangou among the scorers, while Jack Grealish also returned to action (EvertonFC.com) (Liverpool Echo).
Away from events on the pitch, the Liverpool Echo report on advice being given to the Friedkin Group over how they handle their move to sell their controlling stake in Everton, with suggestions on how to avoid looking "daft" in the process.
This round-up is written with the help of AI, using only the day's headlines from the publishers credited above. Each point links to the original report — tap the source name to read it in full.
