(Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
With the season over, we’ll soon be looking full steam ahead to the summer. But, we felt it was worth having a go at rating Everton’s squad from the 2025-26 campaign.
We’ll start with the defence, which includes the goalkeepers.
JORDAN PICKFORD — A
Overall, it was probably not Pickford’s best season, but I do think it had his best highlight reel. Stunning saves against Manchester United, Newcastle United and Chelsea, to name a few, helped Everton pick up vital points. He was not perfect, and certainly made some mistakes, while his vulnerability from set-pieces was exposed, but he finished the season having prevented 3.6 goals, according to Opta Analyst — only three other shot-stoppers in the Premier League (Senne Lammens — 6.5, Gianluigi Donnarumma — 5.7 and Bart Verbruggen — 5.5) recorded a better figure.
MARK TRAVERS — C
Signed for £4million as a back-up last summer, Travers filled that role. He did not make a league appearance and played only twice, with both of those appearances coming in the EFL Cup. He wasn’t particularly great in the loss to Wolves in September, but it’s would be a bit much to give him a D.
TOM KING — C
He hasn’t played at all, but that’s clearly not the point for an experienced pro as a third-choice goalkeeper. By all accounts, a positive personality in the dressing room and highly regarded by his fellow shot-stoppers.
NATHAN PATTERSON — C
Patterson only made eight appearances, and only four of them were starts, but he did nothing wrong and should have been given more time towards the end of the season. He wanted to go in January, and why was David Moyes allowed to keep him, just to then not to play him at all, when Everton desperately needed a change at the back. He was never the right signing for what was required back in 2022, and injuries and poor runs of form have not helped him, but Patterson deserved to be given a go. He has to be moved on this summer, for everyone’s sake.
SEAMUS COLEMAN — C
The iconic defender’s Everton playing career is over, but he will always have a place in our hearts. However, he made just four league appearances, with three coming as a substitute and the other seeing him start at Old Trafford but swiftly go off injured. A club great, whose impact was no doubt felt more at Finch Farm than on the pitch.
JAKE O’BRIEN — C
It’s tough to fully judge O’Brien, given he has consistently been shunted out to right-back. When he did play centrally, in his actual position, he played well, and helped Everton to victories over Crystal Palace (moving there midway through the second half), Bournemouth and Aston Villa. He should have been played back in the middle instead of Michael Keane in the run-in. However, all that being said, he still turned in some stinkers, and playing out of position isn’t enough to excuse some of those displays. Next season, he must be given a chance as a centre-back, and he has some clear improvements to make.
JAMES TARKOWSKI — C
Many fans might say Tarkowski was the worst of Everton’s centre-backs in 2025-26, and there’s no doubt that the 33-year-old’s levels dipped. But, I think it’s worth pointing out that when he didn’t play next to Keane, he was much more like his old self. Now, Tarkowski is in no way blameless. Everton need to be moving on from him next term, and even if he is likely to now be the club captain, he should spend the majority of 2026-27 as a back-up.
MICHAEL KEANE — C
Individually, Keane did okay. He wasn’t great, but he wasn’t as bad as he has been in the past, either. But when he is in the defence, by and large the team leak chances. That is especially the case when he and Tarkowski play together, with the two of them simply not suited at all to playing alongside the other. Keane, of course, is always a threat in the opposition box, and he scored some important goals. However, the fact is he featured 35 times this season and was a key part of a defence that gave up the sixth-most xGA in the league.
JARRAD BRANTHWAITE — C
When Branthwaite played, he was, in the main, good, and in the away win over Newcastle United at the end of February, he was excellent. Yet his season was a write-off, as he featured just 10 times. The injury he sustained in the Merseyside derby was probably one of the crucial blows suffered in the run-in, and Everton, and Branthwaite, must put all their focus into ensuring he can stay fit for the vast majority of next term. A proper, full pre-season is vital, too, because there is no doubting how much better a team the Toffees are when he plays.
VITALIY MYKOLENKO — C
There’s a trend here, isn’t there. Everton’s defence was simply very average across the season, and Mykolenko doesn’t buck the trend, either. In truth, he probably fell below his levels in some ways, and was caught out plenty of times from crosses to the back post that he should have done better from. He’s still a good one-v-one defender and you can never doubt his effort, but Everton need better.
ADAM AZNOU — D
Not one single minute of Premier League action, with his sole appearance coming as a cameo in the FA Cup, in which he was actually excellent. So, this rating cannot be held against Aznou, but there’s not really any way I can justify to give him higher, as he has not been given a chance.
Moyes’s handling of this has been woeful. Aznou should have spent the first 6 months of the season at Everton, been given minutes in the U21s, and then immediately loaned out in January to play at a senior level. Why did the club not have that move lined-up? He is only young and physically not ready to be a left-back in a Moyes team, especially in this era of the Premier League, but he could have been given a go. There were chances to play him when chasing games, whether at left-back or on the wing, which is where he played so well against Sunderland. Everton should take Aznou out of Moyes’s hands next season, and get him a proper loan to further his development.