Nobody is talking about how bad £15m Everton star was

When the transfer window slammed shut and Everton looked around to assess their new signings, it always felt as though they would live to regret a disappointing summer.

Even as David Moyes papered over the cracks before the international break, there were clear weak points waiting to be exploited by sides travelling to the Hill Dickinson, and Chelsea did exactly that.

REUTERS/Phil Noble

The Blues joined the battle on Merseyside, scrapped away, and eventually kept their first clean sheet of the season in a 2-0 victory – handing Everton’s recruitment team plenty of questions to answer.

Everton’s poor recruitment reared its head in Chelsea defeat

The moment that Folarin Balogun walked out the door and walked out on the chance to become an Everton player on deadline day, the Toffees have always been likely to come unstuck the second that Thierno Barry underperforms. The fact is, whilst Chelsea could call on changes to turn the tide, Moyes was left stranded on Saturday afternoon.

REUTERS/Phil Noble

Barry wasn’t his biggest problem on the day, however. Instead, more bad recruitment reared its head as Christian Norgaard made his debut from the bench.

Everton signed the former Arsenal man in an attempt to add experience to a young midfield on top of what seemed like clear quality. Even after a tough spell at the Emirates, in which game time came at a premium, Norgaard’s time at Brentford suggested that Moyes was welcoming an absolute steal at £7m.

Everton targeted Norgaard because of his work out of possession. For Brentford, he made more than six recoveries per 90 minutes in the 2024/25 campaign, earning a move to Arsenal in the process.

If he was good enough for the Premier League champions, then he was good enough for the Toffees. If his Chelsea display is anything to go by, however, then that Premier League winners’ medal provided some kind of false advertising for Moyes and co.

How Norgaard let Everton down on debut

There have been some poor Premier League cameos over the years. Manchester United fans still remind Steven Gerrard of his 38-second red card in 2015. Norgaard’s 15-minute spell wasn’t as bad as that, but it was still disastrous in its own right.

The former Brentford man didn’t win a single duel, made just one sprint and just two recoveries. It was the physical performance of a player past his best and the alarm bells will be ringing for Everton.

The only players slower than Norgaard on Saturday were all three goalkeepers and 35-year-old Danny Welbeck. It’s an incredibly concerning statistic for Everton, who signed the Dane for his work out of possession.

REUTERS/David W Cerny

The concerns don’t stop there for Moyes, either. As bad as Norgaard was, he was not Everton’s most disappointing player.

Everton star struggled yet again vs Chelsea

There are still a lot of positives to take from the way that Everton have started the campaign. One defeat does not change that. What has become clear is that Moyes is going to have to drag every ounce of quality out of the squad that he does have available if he is to take the Toffees to European football.

Whether that is possible is the big question. Several established stars have been guilty of struggling in recent weeks, with Jack Grealish yet to show the quality of a serial winner, Jordan Pickford uncharacteristically sloppy, and James Garner failing to pick up where he left off last season.

The latter is the biggest concern. He was undeniably Everton’s best player last season and could have earned a place in Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup squad in another year. That’s the quality that he was operating with.

Action Images via Reuters/John Sibley

Six months later, however, and the £15m signing looks a shadow of the dominant midfielder of last season.

Against Chelsea, he failed to make his mark yet again and can perhaps count himself lucky that Norgaard didn’t look convincing enough to rob his place from the bench.

The numbers do not make for pretty reading. Garner is covering less distance, making fewer tackles and winning far fewer duels than last season, having played just seven Premier League games.

If this is a gradual drop-off, then he is threatening to become a one-season wonder. And with Hayden Hackney pushing for a starting place, Garner may not get much longer to prove his worth this season.