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‘I’ve been really surprised’: Moyes bemused by Everton’s PSR restrictions

<span>David Moyes says Everton are ‘undoubtedly still hampered with PSR’.</span><span>Photograph: Bryn Lennon/Getty Images</span>
David Moyes says Everton are ‘undoubtedly still hampered with PSR’.Photograph: Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

David Moyes has expressed surprise at the extent of the financial restrictions imposed on Everton but is closing in on the first signing of his second spell in charge, a loan deal for Flamengo midfielder Carlos Alcaraz.

Everton have money to spend this month after the The Friedkin Group’s takeover and were recently declared compliant with Premier League profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) up to the 2023-24 season. But the club remain limited by PSR calculations for this financial year and are unlikely to feel the full benefits of the takeover until the summer.

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Moyes has been trying to strengthen his squad since returning as Everton manager three weeks ago but Alcaraz is the closest he has come to getting a deal over the line. The 22-year-old is due to undergo a medical with Everton ahead of a proposed loan with a view to a permanent transfer.

The midfielder started the season at Southampton and appeared as a substitute in their opening-day defeat at Newcastle before joining Flamengo for a club record €18m. As the Brazilian season overlaps with a Premier League campaign, and has now ended, he is eligible to play for a third club this campaign. Everton’s need for reinforcements has increased with midfielder Orel Mangala out for the rest of the season with an ACL injury and Dominic Calvert-Lewin sidelined for the long-term by a hamstring problem.

“It’s certainly not for the want of trying,” said Moyes on the lack of signings. “Undoubtedly we’re still hampered with PSR. I’m really jealous of watching a lot of teams who can attempt to go for players at expensive prices. At the moment, we’re not quite there but we don’t want to get ourselves in a position we’ve been in before with points deductions so we have to be really mindful of what we do. We hope to bring in some players but maybe it’s not the ones who, if we really had the money, we’d be trying to do.”

The Everton manager admits the PSR challenges have increased his admiration for the business conducted by his predecessor, Sean Dyche, and director of football, Kevin Thelwell, to keep the club afloat in the Premier League in recent seasons. “I’ve been really surprised at the way it’s restricting the football club,” Moyes added. “Everton’s a huge football club and should be competing with many of the big clubs in the country and hopefully spending in a way where it’s right and challenging for the big players who are available.

“There’s not that many in January, to be honest, but the PSR is hindering us. I think I can see now why the last few years at Everton have been so difficult. The people who’ve had to work under the restrictions have done a remarkable job.”