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David Moyes and Thomas Frank both have rebuilds on their hands ahead of the 2025/26 Premier League
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A summer of change at Tottenham has immediately kicked into top gear with the sacking of Ange Postecoglou for Brentford’s Thomas Frank, and the Dane will need to get to work immediately in the transfer window to improve the side’s lowly 2023/24 Premier League finish and prepare Spurs for the Champions League.
The brief hiatus in the summer transfer window comes at the perfect time for Tottenham with Frank due to move into his new office later this week in time for the resumption of wheeling and dealing on Monday, but with Spurs in the familiar position of not signing a player yet they’ll need to move fast to avoid missing out on their top targets.
Indeed, Angel Gomes has already slipped through Daniel Levy’s fingers, staying in France to join Marseille on a free despite a clean rap sheet and Spurs are also looking to sprinkle some stardust on their forward line given Son Heung-Min’s advancing age and Richarlison’s failure to settle since his blockbuster move from Everton.
Tottenham also look set to miss out on Marc Guehi to a London rival as they seek defensive reinforcements, and ironically Richarlison could hold the keys to Spurs signing another Premier League-proven titan at the back if they can send the Brazilian back to Everton in a swap deal plus cash for Jarrad Branthwaite.
Spurs were set to battle Manchester United for the England starlet valued at £70 million minimum but with the Red Devils missing out on Champions League qualification to the Londoners, Levy will hold a significant advantage over Sir Jim Ratcliffe even beyond simply his ability to run a functional football club.
Richarlison the missing piece for toothless Everton
Everton improved in front of goal under David Moyes having been absolutely impotent under Sean Dyche, netting just 15 times in 19 matches before he was sacked for the second-worst attacking record in the Premier League ahead of only Southampton. Moyes did tempt the Toffees back past a goal per game for the remainder of the season but their attack was still in the bottom half of the table over that spell and Moyes knows that must improve next season.
None of his players ended the season with a goal tally in double figures and only three netted more than thrice, so Richarlison could instantly overhaul Everton’s attack frontline - in fact his return in all but one of his seasons at Goodison Park would make him the Toffee’s top scorer this Premier League campaign.
Similarly, his five top-flight assists in his final season at the club would make him the second-best creator in royal blue in 2024/25 behind Dwight McNeil.
And while he has a reputation as a maverick, Richarlison’s defensive numbers and workrate are also strong - he’s among the best tacklers in the middle third in the division and his defensive actions led to an attempt on goal more times than almost anyone else last season.
David Moyes has been a phenomenal man-manager across his time in England and he’d surely be able to get the best of Richarlison, while the Brazilian would likely relish the chance to return to centre-stage as the biggest fish in a pond that he clearly holds a lot of affection for, and guide Everton into an exciting new era at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Richarlison would form a devilish partnership with Iliman Ndiaye, who himself came on leaps and bounds under Moyes’ tutelage, and with Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Armando Broja and Beto all likely leaving Merseyside this summer Everton are in desperate need of quality striking options.
Jarrad Branthwaite fills Spurs’ most pressing need
Only one non-relegated team had a worse defensive record than Tottenham last Premier League season while Frank’s Bees were in the bottom five leakiest surviving teams, so improving central defence is a must for the new regime.
Teenager Archie Gray was arguably the worst player in the division over the campaign too, the former Leeds midfielder was forced to drop into the back four on 34 disastrous occasions over the course of the season as top options Kevin Danso, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero missed almost a year combined in the treatment room.
Meanwhile Radu Dragusin has still only made 37 appearances for Tottenham 18 months on from his arrival in north London and was out for virtually all of 2024, so more defensive superstars are crucial this summer and they don’t come much better than Branthwaite right now.
The towering Cumbrian formed a formidable partnership with James Tarkowski throughout the chaos this season and while Everton are desperate to hang onto him, having signed him for £1m his sale would allow them plenty of funds and PSR wiggle room to boost the squad in other areas and help open the door to bring a club icon back to Merseyside.
Tottenham have dropped their asking price from £60m to £40-45m for Richarlison according to Give Me Sport so Branthwaite for the Brazilian plus around £30m in cash would suit all parties and set both clubs up for explosive summer transfer windows.