Ask an Evertonian what’s keeping them awake this October and Chelsea probably won’t top the list. Something quieter has crept in. It arrived on Friday, in a press room, from the man most of them trust to steady the ship.
What Moyes said about his contract
Sky Sports reported that David Moyes didn’t dodge the question. Plenty of talks happened over the summer, he said, but with the club’s sale in the air there’s been a bit of a lull while everyone gets things in order. Pushing Everton on matters most to him. “Hopefully, we’ve done some half-decent things in the last year-and-a-half or so,” he added.
Understatement, that. He’s 63; he walked into a side one point above the drop zone in January 2025, and he kept them up. Thirteenth last season. They were unbeaten until Chelsea visited them.
Here’s the snag. His deal runs out next summer, and the Friedkin Group announced last week they’re exploring a sale of their controlling stake. Who signs a new contract, then? Nobody knows, and nobody can until a buyer turns up. Celtic gossip hasn’t helped, given he came through their youth system, though that’s just chatter.
Can David Moyes stay at Everton under new owners?
HULL, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 11: David Moyes, Manager of Everton, looks on prior to the Premier League 2026/27 match between Hull City and Everton at MKM Stadium on October 11, 2026 in Hull, England. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)
I reckon he can, and the next owners would be daft to let him go. Seventh in the table isn’t luck. Moyes knows how to organise a side on a budget, and it shows. A buyer doing homework sees an unbeaten start, a settled defence and a dressing room that clearly likes him. Jordan Pickford and James Tarkowski both signed long deals under him, which says plenty about how the senior lads feel.
The danger is timing. Takeovers drag on for months, and a manager in the final year of his deal can start to look like a caretaker. Players notice. Agents notice too. If the sale stretches into spring, every dropped point turns into a story about his future.
So the Friedkin Group hold a card worth playing. Extend him now and they sell a stable club with a proven boss in place, which usually helps the price. Leave it, and Moyes holds the leverage instead, free to talk to Celtic or anyone else from January.
Europe changes everything. Qualify, and no new owner dares sack the man who delivered it.