David Moyes targeted Merlin Rohl at the start of 2025 and, having landed him earlier this month, believes he could play a key role this season for Everton
Merlin Rohl during the Premier League match between Everton and Aston Villa at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Merlin Rohl during the Premier League match between Everton and Aston Villa at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Deadline day signing Merlin Rohl will offer David Moyes a versatility he craves as he attempts to push Everton up the league.
The Blues boss overhauled his squad in the summer in preparation for the dawn of a new era as the club continued to make strides on and off the pitch under new owners The Friedkin Group and with the move to the stunning Hill Dickinson Stadium.
He stressed throughout the window that sustainable progress would take time and addressing every issue in his squad would be impossible in one close-season.
The addition of the Germany Under-21s international is a move that will help him overcome some of the remaining shortfalls, Moyes hopes.
Rohl has been utilised across the central midfield positions in his short career, being pushed forward to help former club Freiburg’s attack and also sitting deeper when necessary.
The 23-year-old describes himself as a box-to-box midfielder and is attuned to Moyes’ belief that he could be an asset across different roles, explaining upon his arrival: “I think versatility is a strength of mine.”
That is something Moyes, who has been impressed with Rohl in training, is keen to tap into during a season in which he is aware his squad will be stretched.
Everton’s alternative central midfield options include Idrissa Gueye, who is expected to miss a swathe of December and January while representing Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations; James Garner, who has been used at left back to cover injuries to Vitalii Mykolenko in three of the four opening Premier League matches, and Tim Iroegbunam, who is still relatively inexperienced in top flight football.
Another potential option, teen starlet Harrison Armstrong, was allowed to leave on loan to Preston North End when it became clear Rohl’s move would be signed off.
Rohl, who came off the bench for his Blues debut in the goalless draw at home to Aston Villa on Saturday, joined on a season-long loan deal but any return to his Bundesliga parent club is unlikely.
A clause within the agreement will oblige Everton to make the deal permanent for a fee of around £18m should the club avoid relegation this season.
The move was completed in the final hours of deadline day and came about after it became clear Moyes’ hopes of bringing Tomas Soucek from former club West Ham United would not yield success.
Rohl was, however, a player on the Blues’ radar for a long time and could have secured a move to Merseyside at the start of 2025, Moyes said.
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He added: “We’d actually tried to buy him in January when I came in, and we couldn’t get him at the time. He picked up a few niggly injuries in the second half of the season, so he was someone who we always had in mind.
“I wanted a slightly different profile in midfield to what we had as well, if we could, and he’s different to what we’ve got and he can play quite a few roles.
“He’s played a lot of roles so it means that, once he gets used to us and this league, I think I could probably use him in other areas as well.”
