Explained: Why Everton, Charly Alcaraz signing dragged on and how David Moyes helped seal the deal

Everton finalised the loan signing of Charly Alcaraz from Flamengo by submitting a deal sheet to complete the move after the 11pm deadline on Monday night and sources have shed light on why things took so long.

Flamengo announced that Alcaraz had joined Everton three days prior to the move officially being completed, which created confusion amongst some fans as to why the deal took so long to be finalised.

Those close to the player and Everton were surprised by Flamengo’s statement as at that point since terms had not been agreed with the player and neither had the obligation to buy clause been ironed out – the reasons why the deal ultimately went to the wire.

The most time-consuming part was negotiations with Alcaraz, who although only joining on an initial loan is likely to move permanently.

Everton have a conditional obligation to buy in the agreement, which states they must sign him permanently for €20m (£16.6m, $20.8m) if he makes eight appearances before the end of the season.

Eight games is enough time for Alcaraz to get reacquainted with English football and for the Toffees to make a decision over whether he’s a player they want for the long-term

It’s a preferable formula for the Merseyside club, who are planning to do more business in the summer with The Friedkin Group putting together ambitious plans which will be easy to execute if Everton stay up.

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David Moyes played a key role in Alcaraz negotiations

The obligation to buy clause took a while to negotiate as it required input from David Moyes, who had to feedback what he felt was an appropriate amount of games before the obligation kicked in.

Moyes and the player ultimately signed off on the eight-game timeframe for the clause and the deal was officially sealed 20 minutes past midnight.

It’s understood that Everton also thrashed out a deal with Flamengo that will allow the Toffees to terminate the loan should Alcaraz pick up a long-term injury, which also added time to negotiations.

Premier League rules give teams an extra two hours to negotiate loan if they submit a deal sheet before the 11pm deadline, as Everton did in this case.

The benefit of a loan deal for Everton is that it means any payment for Alcaraz will be pushed into the next financial year, which is beneficial for their PSR situation.

Everton have 15 Premier League games remaining this season and are still in the FA Cup, so that will give them plenty of time to assess Alcaraz.

The 22-year-old is a tenacious midfielder who likes to play on the front foot and create and score goals and can play as a striker when required, too.

Alcaraz scored four goals and made two assists in 18 Premier League appearances for a poor Southampton side in 2022/23 and will hope to hit the ground running for the Toffees this season.

Why Everton didn’t sign a striker in January

Moyes was fairly open in recent press conferences that ideally he wanted to sign another striker to cover for injured duo Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Armando Broja.

However, Everton were ultimately unable to bring in a new centre-forward due to three reasons: PSR concerns, a lack of viable targets being available, and the fact they were unable to terminate Broja’s loan.

Everton held talks with Chelsea over negotiating the loan deal for Broja due to him picking up an injury which initially appeared to be serious, but the London side didn’t want to bring him back as they felt it could diminish his value.

Broja’s injury now appears to be not as bad as first feared and he should be available to play again in around five weeks. Chelsea preferred Broja to stay at Goodison, especially knowing he’ll be eligible for minutes between now and May.

Everton’s new owners, The Friedkin Group, may have been more willing to spend on new additions if the club were in a more precarious position in the table, but Moyes has been able to build a cushion between Everton and the bottom three. He has won three of his first four games since his reappointment at Goodison Park and the Toffees now sit nine points outside the relegation zone.

That has given Everton a bit of breathing space and for TFG to follow the approach they initially wanted to under previous manager Sean Dyche – spend as little as possible to ensure compliance with PSR, before rebuilding the squad and other aspects of the club in the summer when they can be more ambitious.

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