Well, thanks for everything, Friedkin Group. Everton are so much stronger as they prepare to draw down the curtain on their Merseyside dynasty.

Everton have suffered over the years in the Premier League, but it's the instability that has wrecked them. The Friedkin Group have hardly been perfect, but they have overseen David Moyes' return to Merseyside, guiding the Toffees away from relegation danger and, last season, coming close to qualifying for Europe.

In regard to the transfer market, Everton have left a lot to be desired under Friedkin Group ownership. Let's just hope their decision to sell up after buying off Farhad Moshiri in December 2024 will fire this project in a positive direction.

Everton's transfer business under the Friedkin Group

Review the Friedkin Group's incomings since they took charge nearly two years ago, and you might conclude that Everton's owners have never shown the kind of care a Premier League of this stature deserves.

Moyes gave Goodison Park a facelift when replacing a beleaguered Sean Dyche in January 2025, weeks after TFG took charge. However, that rush of form must be attributed to the manager, and not the powers that be, as they only added Charly Alcaraz to that struggling squad that winter.

Last year proved a summer of promise, in fairness. Everton spent over £100m on the likes of Thierno Barry, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Tyler Dibling while selling only Youssef Chermiti and Neal Maupay for small fees. But consistent actions speak of an ownership's vision, and this year's summer market stands in stark polarity.

Technical director Angus Kinnear has weathered a storm of criticism after bungling Everton's summer transfer window, allowing numerous players to leave toward the end of the window and only completing two signings: Jack Grealish and Ainsley Maitland-Niles (who isn't even a 'proper' right-back).

Selling Beto and Iliman Ndiaye in August without bringing over a direct forward was an egregious mistake. Now, the Friedkin Group's legacy will not be a rich one at Everton - though they did manage to add an attacker to the squad this summer who might prove the worst addition of this short-lived era.

The worst Everton signing of the Friedkin Group era

Everton have made a defiant start to the season under Moyes' wing, but this latest cloud of uncertainty proves another distraction which may impact the Toffees in their fight to challenge for Europe with a small squad.

It's certainly not impossible, but Moyes will need his forwards to be on their A-game across the course of the campaign - and he will need injury fortune on his side too. He will also need Brennan Johnson to up his game, with the summer signing currently looking like the worst signing of the Friedkin era.

Johnson joined the club from Crystal Palace this summer. He replaced Dwight McNeil, who headed the other way in a direct swap.

We're still in the early knockings of the season, but Everton are undoubtedly braced for the Welsh winger to prove a flop on Merseyside. The issue, of course, is that with Ndiaye sold and not replaced, they can't really afford to rely on youngsters Tyrique George and Tyler Dibling. Already, Johnson looks like something out of the erstwhile Moshiri era, one to sit on online lists debating the worst Everton signings of modern times.

The issue is that Johnson's poor form has become a pattern. A prolonged period of inadequacy in front of goal. He has never been the most relentless dueller, the most intense dribbler, but now, the fundamental strength of his skillset has been stripped away, and this is leading him up to prove a costly mistake - perhaps the worst of the Friedkin era.

And it's not as if he hasn't had chances to break his duck, skying a glorious chance to bag the winner against Tottenham before the international break.

Johnson has shown in the past that he has the quality to score goals in the Premier League, but Everton have signed him following a devastating decline at Spurs and an abject half-season career with Crystal Palace.

If the likes of Dibling and George kick on over the coming months, Johnson could once again find himself on the periphery in the Premier League.