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Balogun medical derails Everton
Everton’s deadline-day attempt to sign Folarin Balogun collapsed after issues with his medical at Finch Farm, leaving the United States striker to walk away from the move without signing.
“ending with the United States striker deciding to walk away from Everton's Finch Farm training base without signing”
The BBC said Balogun, 25, had agreed a deal sheet allowing completion after Tuesday’s 23.00 BST transfer deadline, but he was unable to arrive until later after Everton scheduled an 8am flight to bring him to Merseyside.
ESPN reported that Balogun’s late U-turn came after the transfer had to be renegotiated following an unspecified issue during his medical, and that Everton tried and failed to seal a loan move for Manchester United’s Joshua Zirkzee.
With the window closing, Everton’s failure to secure Balogun meant the club ended the day without attacking reinforcements, and the BBC noted the “good place” Angus Kinnear described ultimately left David Moyes with just one striker in the raw Thierno Barry.
The Guardian later framed the fallout as part of a wider late-night transfer drama involving Balogun, Everton, Monaco, Lamine Camara and Chelsea, with the move for Balogun “off” after complications with his medical.
Monaco and Chelsea trade blame
Monaco sporting director Thiago Scuro told reporters that the allegation was that Balogun was “not comfortable” with how Everton treated him during his medical, while ESPN said Scuro blamed Balogun and Everton’s medical staff for the botched move.
Scuro also said Everton contacted Monaco to raise questions regarding Balogun’s medical examination, and he argued the concerns “made absolutely no sense to either our medical staff or the player's personal physician.”
The BBC reported that Everton believe they supported Balogun throughout the process and were “open about the issues identified,” while also saying the club would work with Monaco to explore a solution that could still enable the transfer to be completed.
In a separate thread of the same deadline-day collapse, the BBC said Chelsea’s move for Lamine Camara was revived only after Everton’s Balogun medical problems reopened the door, and it described Chelsea as “livid” over Monaco’s handling of the situation.
The BBC added that Monaco acknowledged Camara was disappointed after he had spoken to Xabi Alonso, passed a medical and signed a contract until 2033, but said the plug was pulled when Everton were ready to sign for Balogun.
What Everton face next
The New York Times said Balogun pulling out was “a massive blow for Everton,” noting the club had already sanctioned the sale of Beto to Fiorentina and now had just one senior striker, Thierno Barry, after the deadline passed.
“Make no mistake, Folarin Balogun pulling out of a move is a massive blow for Everton”
It also reported that Everton ended the window short at full-back, with the departures of Nathan Patterson to Torino and Adam Aznou on loan to Malaga leaving the club short on both sides of defence.
The BBC described the immediate pressure on Everton’s leadership, saying Kinnear’s “failure” framing would now be applied to the owners and chief executive rather than Moyes, after the “good place” line.
Liverpool Echo said Moyes was left with a senior squad that included “just one additional face” from 2025/26, and it cited the club’s paltry 18 outfield players as the backdrop to supporters demanding answers.
Across the same deadline-day fallout, the Guardian said the late-night drama saw all parties “lose out,” and it noted that Everton failed to find alternatives to Balogun while Chelsea’s Camara deal was pulled despite paperwork being completed.