Everton Sold Calvert-Lewin's Successor for £10m, Now Regret It?
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- Everton menjual Youssef Chermiti ke Rangers dengan harga £10 juta pada musim panas lalu, padahal ia kini bersinar di Liga Skotlandia dengan 15 gol.
- Kegagalan mendatangkan striker baru di bursa transfer musim panas membuat lini depan Everton hanya mengandalkan Thierno Barry yang inkonsisten.
- Dengan jendela transfer Januari masih jauh, Everton berisiko kehilangan peluang bersaing di kompetisi Eropa jika tidak segera menemukan solusi di lini serang.
Everton face a major dilemma up front after the controversial decision to sell Youssef Chermiti to Rangers for just £10 million last summer. The 22-year-old striker has now turned into a goal machine in the Scottish Premiership with 15 goals in 30 appearances, while the Toffees struggle to find a suitable replacement for Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who left for Leeds United on a free transfer in 2025.
The Friedkin Group management's decision to let Chermiti go looks increasingly misguided after attempts to sign Folarin Balogun from AS Monaco and Joshua Zirkzee from Manchester United hit deadlock on transfer deadline day. As a result, manager David Moyes has only Thierno Barry as an out-and-out centre-forward, a player whose form has been up and down since arriving from Villarreal for £27 million.
The irony is all the more striking given Everton once had Beto, a striker who consistently scored over the past two years, but he was sold to Fiorentina at the end of the transfer window. Now, with only Barry as a spearhead, Everton are walking a tightrope until the January transfer window arrives.
Chermiti, who was bought from Sporting Lisbon in 2023, did fail to shine at Goodison Park with only 25 appearances and no goals. However, his potential as a 6ft 4in target man with aerial ability and promising mobility actually suited the Premier League style of play. At Rangers, he has proven himself a complete forward capable of creating chances and scoring crucial goals.
"Everton should have been able to keep Chermiti for at least another season to see how he developed. Letting him go for £10 million is a costly strategic mistake," said a transfer analyst who declined to be named.
The failure in the transfer market is not just about losing a player, but also affects Everton's ambition to return to European competition. Currently, the Toffees are ninth in the Premier League after four games, points behind Liverpool and with just one defeat. However, without a sharp striker, maintaining consistency throughout the season will be a tough challenge.
Moyes can still rely on players like Tyrique George and Brennan Johnson to fill the front line, but neither is a natural centre-forward. This option is clearly not ideal for a team wanting to compete at the top. Until January, Everton must maximise their existing resources, even though their chances of finishing in the European places are shrinking.
For Indonesian football fans, Everton's case is a valuable lesson about the importance of thorough transfer planning. Liga 1 clubs such as Persija Jakarta or Persib Bandung also often face similar situations when they release productive strikers without a suitable replacement. The impact is immediately felt on team performance in domestic and Asian competitions.
Going forward, Everton must quickly find a solution up front, either through the January transfer market or by developing young players. If not, the dream of returning to Europe could fade before the season ends. Will the Friedkin Group management learn from this mistake, or will they repeat a similar blunder?
