Former Premier League star Danny Mills has said it is a worry to see Everton selling their biggest assets, but he is unconcerned that chairman Dan Friedkin has never attended a match.
Transfer deadline day sales
After U-turning on their decision to allow Nottingham Forest to make a £40m bid for Harrison Armstrong, The Friedkin Group sanctioned the sale of Iliman Ndiaye to Manchester City. With Beto, Tim Iroegbunam and Nathan Patterson also sold, the Blues brought in more than £100m on deadline day.
However, after Folarin Balogun's £40m move from Monaco collapsed, Everton's outgoings on the last day of the window were restricted to the £4m they paid to sign Ainsley Maitland-Niles from Lyon. The club is also paying a significant chunk of Jack Grealish's wages following his return on loan from Manchester City.
Mills, whose son Stanley spent seven years with the Blues before joining Oxford United in 2025, told the ECHO: "I think selling your biggest assets is a worry. It's never easy.
"Obviously, big money came in for Iliman Ndiaye, who's done really, really well, he's been very, very impressive. But when a team comes knocking for a player, it's very, very difficult.
"The player's head is clearly turned. What do you do in that situation?
"Do you keep a player that doesn't really want to be there? Do you get the best out of him? Or do you allow him to go, although it was very, very last minute, and then try and get through to January and rebuild then?
"The transfer market is never easy. Player power is huge, we know that in this day and age."
Friedkin's absence 'irrelevant'
Dan Friedkin has never attended an Everton game at either Goodison Park or Hill Dickinson Stadium. After the window closed, manager David Moyes revealed he had never even spoken to him.
But Mills insists the hands-off approach, in contrast to his dealings at Roma where he has been photographed with coaching staff and players on training ground visits, does not bother him.
He said: "The owner not going to the game, I don't really think, is that relevant. I could go around the Premier League and, apart from one or two that are quite media-friendly and front-facing, I couldn't tell you if the owner was at the game or not, if I'm honest.
"I don't think it really makes much difference. Sometimes if the team is doing well, no one cares, no one's bothered whether the owner is there or not.
"If the team aren't doing so well and the owner turns up, then they become the object of the fans' frustration, don't they? But for me, the owner not going to a game is pretty irrelevant."
Full-back experiments
As a former right-back, Mills takes a keen interest in Moyes using both centre-back Jake O'Brien and midfielder Merlin Rohl in the position.
Pep Guardiola, the most successful Premier League manager of the past decade, converted various players into full-backs such as Matheus Nunes, Nico O'Reilly, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Fabian Delph, who left the Etihad Stadium for Everton.
After over 18 months of searching, the Blues finally recruited a right-back specialist in Maitland-Niles on transfer deadline day. While Mills reckons certain players can fill in to get you out of a jam, over lengthier periods it can be more difficult.
The former England international, speaking courtesy of BestBettingBonuses.co.uk, said: "The full-back role has changed, definitely. It's a lot different to how it used to be.
"It's not easy to change position. I still think in high-pressure situations you tend to revert to type.
"The best teams tend to have specialists in the best positions. Look at what Arsenal have done.
"Okay, Ben White was converted from centre-back, but he often played in a three at Leeds anyhow and got out to right back. But they have specialists in every position.
"It's very difficult to get away with long-term with players that are out of position. So, top clubs, especially, should surely be able to recruit top players in those positions and persuade them to come and play for them.
"I think you can get away with it on a short-term basis, but long-term it makes it very, very difficult to be consistent and be competitive."
