Everton’s 10 most expensive transfers of all time

Martin Macdonald

• Updated: 9 Sep 2024 04:32 CDT
• 6 min read

Everton had a comparatively quiet transfer window in 2024, but that was to be expected with the Premier League club's financial issues.

The Toffees have struggled in recent years, sliding down the table from European challengers to relegation battlers, yet given the majority of their most expensive players were signed more than half a decade ago, that should not be seen as a big surprise

The club's owner Farhad Moshiri initially began to splash the cash, but results proved ineffective and Everton have since slowed down their spending and have changed managers numerous times.

READ MORE: Chelsea's 10 most expensive transfers of all time

The likes of Carlo Ancelotti, Ronald Koeman and Marco Silva spent exorbitantly previously, as Everton had an outlay of well into the hundreds of millions to try and bridge the gap to the Premier League elite.

All of Everton's 10 most expensive transfers of all time have come within the last decade and FootballTransfers takes a look at who has made the cut.

READ MORE: Man Utd’s 10 most expensive transfers of all time

10. Moise Kean - €27.5m (from Juventus, 2019)

Everton have desperately been trying to find the new Romelu Lukaku ever since the Belgian left the club for Manchester United in 2017.

Moise Kean seemed like a good bet as he was well thought of at Juventus, but he never had the luck or the attitude to succeed at Goodison Park.

He was shipped out on loan to Paris Saint-Germain in what was a successful spell before eventually returning back to Juventus on a permanent deal.

9. Jordan Pickford - €28.5m (from Sunderland, 2017)

Jordan Pickford is the kind of player that will always receive criticism due to the way he plays the game. He is passionate, intense, and always shouting at his defence.

The former Sunderland man is capable of pulling off a fabulous save, but he is also prone to a mistake or two. However, he has been an excellent servant for Everton and played a key role in their survival during the 2022-23 season.

Furthermore, Pickford has continued to establish himself as England's No.1 during his time at Everton.

8. Michael Keane - €28.5m (from Burnley, 2017)

Michael Keane helped form one of the most formidable defensive units in the Premier League while at Burnley, guided by the pragmatism of Sean Dyche.

However, despite the €28.5m spent on the Englishman, he was never likely to be the central defender to take Everton to the next level and he fell out of favour at Goodison Park under Frank Lampard.

7. Yannick Bolasie - €28.9m (from Crystal Palace, 2016)

Yannick Bolasie is an enigma of a player in that he could take on all-comers one minute with an incisive dribble and then flatter to deceive the next.

Everton hoped to make him a more consistent attacker with a big-money transfer in 2017, but unfortunately for the winger, his career in Merseyside was ravaged by serious injury.

The problems with his knee meant that he was never really able to gain any momentum, while there was already questions over his end product before he signed.

Bolasie left Goodison Park with two goals in 32 games.

6. Yerry Mina - €30.3m (from Barcelona, 2018)

On paper, this looked like a positive acquisition as Everton were gaining a supposed Barcelona-level defender for a decent fee.

Although Yerry Mina was a monster in both boxes - as he showed in the 2018 World Cup - he was inconsistent in his actual defending and his fitness was also unreliable during his time with the Toffees.

Mina eventually left Everton to join Fiorentina on a free transfer in 2023 having never become the main man in defence despite arriving from Barcelona.

5. Alex Iwobi - €30.4m (from Arsenal, 2019)

Everton were crying out for wingers in the summer of 2019 and eventually took a punt on Alex Iwobi who had fallen out of favour at Arsenal.

After an inconsistent first couple of seasons at Goodison, Iwobi was moved into midfield by Frank Lampard where he enjoyed a new lease on life, perhaps justifying the big outlay made on him.

However, Everton sold him to Fulham for €25.7m on Deadline Day during the 2023 summer window.

4. Romelu Lukaku - €35.4m (from Chelsea, 2014)

After a successful loan spell, Everton finally brought Romelu Lukaku's Chelsea nightmare to an end by buying him for a then club-record fee of €35.4m.

The Belgian was a huge hit at Goodison Park, so much so that Manchester United would come calling a couple of years later to bring him to Old Trafford.

His career has come full circle since as a transfer to Inter was followed by a sensational return to Chelsea in 2021 before another stint with the Italian side on loan. Everton haven't had anyone near his quality since.

The Belgian left the Toffees with 87 goals in 166 games.

3. Richarlison - €39.2m (from Watford, 2018)

After just one season in the Premier League, Richarlison was purchased by Everton from Watford for a fee of €39.2m.

The Brazilian, who is his country's starting number nine, was a fan favourite at Goodison Park, thanks to his intensity, aggression and goal-scoring ability.

Richarlison netted 53 Everton goals before the Toffees sold him to Tottenham for €58m in 2022.

2. Amadou Onana - €39.9m (from Lille, 2022)

Everton needed a new midfielder in the summer transfer window of 2022, and they found a good one in Lille's Amadou Onana.

Lille were open to doing business and Everton were keen to buy, making this a rather easy deal to complete as they beat interest from West Ham United.

The Toffees paid an initial €35m for the midfielder, yet this climbed to nearly €40m due to bonus payments.

When he was sold in the summer of 2024, he became Aston Villa's most expensive player ever as he completed a €59.4m transfer.

1. Gylfi Sigurdsson - €49.4m (from Swansea, 2017)

At the time, Gylfi Sigurdsson's €49.4m move from Swansea seemed like a huge overpay and so it proved. He scored 31 goals in 156 appearances for Everton.

In July 2021, Greater Manchester Police announced a Premier League player had been arrested "on suspicion of child sex offences", while Everton confirmed that a first-team player had been suspended.

Sigurdsson's final Everton appearance came in 2021 and he left the club to join Lyngdby BK.

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