Everton’s 10 most expensive transfers of all time

FT Desk

• 12 Apr 2026 02:01 CDT
• 6 min read

Analysis

Everton have had an up-and-down few years in the transfer market, brought about by lavish spending that ultimately backfired.

The Toffees tried to bridge the gap to the Premier League's elite in the late 2010s and early 2020s, but with little success. They went from European challengers to perennial relegation-battlers, and only the legendary David Moyes has been able to arrest the club's decline.

Everton's ambitious spending came back to bite them when they breached the Premier League's spending rules, resulting in a points deduction in 2023. As a result, they were forced to become a lot smarter about their recruitment.

Most of the club's biggest signings have been made over the past decade. Below, FootballTransfers runs through Everton's 10 most expensive transfers of all time.

10. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall - €28.7m (from Chelsea, 2025)

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is Leicester through and through, but he was forced to depart his beloved Foxes in 2024 due to the club's financial difficulties.

He followed his former head coach Enzo Maresca to Chelsea, but he found it difficult to consistently break into the side. Consequently, he was sold again after just one season.

Everton snapped him up for €28.7 million in what proved to be an inspired piece of business as the midfielder has been excellent for the Toffees.

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

Yannick Bolasie is an enigma of a player in that, during his prime, 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 were already questions over his end product before he signed.

Bolasie left Goodison Park with two goals in 32 games.

8. Thierno Barry - €30m (from Villarreal, 2025)

Thierno Barry established himself as one of LaLiga's most exciting prospects during his time at Villarreal, earning him a big-money move to the Premier League in the summer of 2025.

Everton turned to the Frenchman to replace Dominic Calvert-Lewin, but Barry failed to hit the ground running. It took him until December 2025 to score his first goal.

Once he got that monkey off his back, however, he began to deliver more consistently.

7. 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.

6. 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.

5. 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, followed by spells at Roma and Napoli.

Everton haven't had anyone near his quality since. The Belgian left the Toffees with 87 goals in 166 games.

4. 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 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.

3. 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.

2. Tyler Dibling - €40.5m (from Southampton, 2025)

Homegrown winger Tyler Dibling was the only positive of what was a dire 2024/25 season for Southampton, and it came as a surprise to no one when he jumped ship after the Saints' relegation.

While the South Coast club had initially hoped to receive as much as €100m for Dibling, they ultimately had to settle for a more reasonable (but still inflated) €40.5m when Everton came calling.

It is a signing that has yet to pay off for the Merseyside club as the youngster struggled to make an impact in his first season.

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.

The 10 most expensive Everton signings of all time