Everton knew that they needed to bolster their attack during the summer transfer window after they only scored 47 goals in the Premier League in the 2025/26 campaign.

The Toffees also lost Beto to Fiorentina for £14.6m and Iliman Ndiaye to Manchester City for £65m in the window, after the pair combined for 15 goals in the league last season.

Unfortunately, the club were unable to bring in a new striker to bolster their squad before the deadline, as a £45m deal for Monaco forward Folarin Balogun collapsed at the very last minute.

Everton's record when buying new attackers has been far from faultless over the years, though, as they have wasted too much money on flops, such as Moise Kean.

How Moise Kean's career at Everton unfolded

In the summer of 2019, the Toffees swooped to sign the Italy international from Juventus for a fee of £27.5m in the hope that he would be the reliable goalscorer that they needed.

Unfortunately, Kean endured a frustrating first season in the Premier League with the Toffees, scoring just two goals, and he failed to establish himself as a regular starter.

The Italian forward's general play was too sloppy, as he lost the majority of his duels and only converted 7% of his shots, and that led to him falling out of favour after one season on Merseyside.

He then spent the following two campaigns on loan at Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus, scoring 14 goals in 88 matches, before signing permanently for the Old Lady for a fee of £22m.

Kean finally found his feet in front of goal with Fiorentina in the Serie A, scoring 32 goals in 74 matches in the 2024/25 and 2025/26 seasons combined, but Everton never saw the best of his abilities in front of goal.

Summer signing for Everton could be the new Moise Kean

Fast-forward seven years after the deal to sign Kean from Juventus, the Toffees may have just signed a player who could be the club's next version of the Italian flop.

In the summer transfer window, the club decided to participate in a rare transfer deal as they swapped Dwight McNeil with Crystal Palace for Brennan Johnson, without any transfer fees being exchanged to compensate for one team or the other.

The former Tottenham Hotspur man had only signed for the Eagles for a club-record fee of £35m in January, but they opted to cash in on him after the winger failed to score in 26 appearances in all competitions.

McNeil did not score any goals in any competition for Everton in the 2025/26 campaign, which meant that a straight-swap with Johnson seemed like a decent deal on paper for David Moyes' team.

Unfortunately, though, Johnson's performances in the Premier League so far this season have already shown why Palace were so quick to part ways with him after signing him in January.

The Wales international started in the 0-0 draw with Tottenham Hotspur, his former club, on Saturday evening and spurned the biggest chance of the match when he sliced an effort well high and wide of the goal under no pressure inside the box.

Johnson's all-round play has been Kean-esque in the Premier League for the Toffees, because he has been incredibly sloppy with his use of the ball and his work out of possession.

The Welsh attacker is a winger who has failed with every single attempted dribble and is yet to create a 'big chance' for his teammates in the division.

Johnson did score a goal and provide an assist in a 4-0 win over Preston North End in the League Cup last month, but he has yet to show any genuine quality against Premier League level opposition.

Since the start of last season, the winger has scored two goals, created one 'big chance', and assisted one goal in 38 appearances in the Premier League for Spurs, Palace, and Everton combined.

To put it simply, Johnson is not offering anywhere near enough with his general play or his work in the final third to justify a continued inclusion in the side, which is why the concern may be that he is on his way to becoming Moyes' own Kean.

If the Welshman continues to struggle throughout this season, Everton could have a big decision to make about his future at the club in the next two transfer windows.