David Moyes gives brutally honest verdict on Liverpool’s £446m transfer spree

Everton boss David Moyes has been speaking about the huge amount of money Liverpool have spent on transfers ahead of the Merseyside Derby

David Moyes has highlighted the financial disparity between Liverpool and Everton – pointing out that the Reds spent more on a single player in the summer than the Toffees did on their entire squad. Despite this, he insists that Liverpool have earned their spending power through their success.

Even though Everton had their largest ever net spend in the transfer market this summer, breaking free from the PSR restrictions that have hindered them in recent years, it was still overshadowed by Liverpool’s staggering £446million expenditure on new players – the highest amount ever spent by an English club in a single window.

As Everton prepare to face Liverpool in the 247th Merseyside Derby, Moyes was asked if such extravagant spending made him envious. His response was: “You have to earn the right. You have to win and be in the big competitions which makes the money.”

He went on to explain how his experience at West Ham United showed him that success in Europe can lead to increased spending power: “I found at West Ham that three years in Europe allowed us to spend money, allowed us to bring money in and upped the spending. From that point of view, Liverpool are entitled to do that.”

Moyes continued: “I heard Arne (Slot) defending himself and he’s brought in a lot of money as well, which he rightly has done. But I still think they’ve spent more on one player than we’ve spent on the whole squad,” reports the Liverpool Echo.

The Everton manager concluded by acknowledging the reality of the situation and his role in trying to close the gap between the two clubs: “It gives you a realism over where the game is and where the clubs are. I need to try and shorten the gulf between the two clubs.

“At the moment, Liverpool are champions and are probably favourites, if not second favourites, for the Champions League. We’re not, we’re Everton who have had three or four difficult seasons and we’re just beginning to rebuild and trying to bridge that gap is quite difficult to do.”

The Glaswegian continued: “Obviously they’ve bought in a lot of really good players. Over recent years, Jurgen Klopp’s teams have been fantastic, and I think Arne Slot has come in and done a brilliant job for his club in the one year he’s been here.

“They’ve gone out and bought some real top players which has strengthened them again. So, they’ve looked to improve again, but I think we’ve improved as well and I think from my point of view, I have to look at us and what we’re doing and I want us to keep improving and get better if we can.”

Slot’s men have secured victory in all four of their Premier League fixtures this campaign with strikes coming in the 83rd minute or beyond, but Moyes recognises that with the leading clubs boasting extensive squads, the ability to finish matches powerfully represents a crucial attribute in today’s game.

He remarked: “Liverpool have shown at different times they’re very, very good and there are other times where they’ve shown some vulnerability where they’ve conceded goals. We’ll have to try and take advantage of those moments as well.

“We played them last year at Anfield and lost to an offside goal. We want to try and run them close again, work hard and maybe this time it will fall in our favour?

“They’ve got a strength that a lot of teams have and I heard Mikel (Arteta) calling them finishers (rather than those named in the starting line-up) the other day.

“I think it’s a big part of the game now that you should be able to bring people off the bench and maybe help them change the game and they can have an impact.

“The teams at the top of the league who have so many games and need the extra players are using it.

“We think we have people as well who are not always the starters, who can come on and finish the games as well.”

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