Under Sean Dyche, the Everton sinking ship looked set for a worrying battle against the Premier League relegation zone.
Now, under the inspired methods of old face turned fresh motivator David Moyes, the Toffees are looking up at the table instead of looking precariously down, with Moyes’ men now amazingly 13 points off the last relegation spot in the daunting division.
It has been a revitalising appointment all round for a suddenly confident Everton group, with Beto now a leading marksman for his side under the Scotsman, when Dyche would rarely give him opportunities to shine.
Transformed Everton stars under Moyes
Indeed, the Portugal-born striker looked anything but a deadly goal machine during his early days in England, with his weak output for last campaign seeing him bag just three league strikes from 30 outings.
He has already beaten that small total under Moyes’ still fledgling return, with four strikes coming his way from his side’s last three Premier League contests, which included opening the scoring during Goodison Park’s last ever Merseyside Derby.
He would follow up this composed goal against the Reds with another similarly ice-cold finish versus Crystal Palace, with Jack Harrison another figure boosted by Moyes’ transformative presence based on his individual display at Selhurst Park.
The Leeds United loanee would successfully complete four dribbles as a full-throttle option down the flanks, with this performance doubly reassuring when you consider Iliman Ndiaye’s unfortunate injury situation.
A knee ligament injury means Ndiaye will be absent for a whole batch of fixtures heading Everton’s way, which is a notable blow when you glance at the fact he has six goals himself in top-flight action this campaign.
But, he will be sidelined now, whilst an ex-Toffees dud continues to strut his stuff in Spain bettering both Beto and Ndiaye’s goal tallies.
The Everton flop who's now outperforming Beto & Ndiaye
Whilst Beto has suddenly turned into a worthwhile purchase, other attackers in Everton’s recent past haven’t always turned around their troubling careers.
Sandro Ramirez definitely falls into this bracket as one major flop in the centre-forward department, having once cost the Premier League side £5.25m to obtain back in 2017, only to go down as a goal-shy waste of time.
The now 29-year-old would only go on to make 16 appearances for the Toffees over a cursed three-year stint, resulting in Ramirez only helping himself to a meagre one goal and two assists and the dud being loaned out numerous times back to his native Spain.
After all, there was a logic here that Ramirez could perhaps move back to familiar surroundings momentarily and recapture his Malaga best before then heading back to England a new man, considering the previously free-flowing attacker had amassed a stunning 16 strikes from 31 clashes donning Malaga colours.
Season
Club played for
Games played
Goals scored
24/25
Las Palmas
19
7
23/24
Las Palmas
27
1
22/23
Las Palmas
21
7
21/22
Getafe
29
3
20/21
Huesca
20
5
19/20
Real Valladolid
24
3
18/19
Real Sociedad
24
0
17/18
Sevilla
13
0
It unfortunately didn’t work out like that for the former Barcelona youngster with a number of goal-barren spells in La Liga passing him by, leading to then Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti letting him leave the building on a free transfer in 2020.
That has since come back to bite them arguably, with his goal record for hometown club Las Palmas this season in the league bettering both Beto and Ndiaye’s back in England, with a promising seven strikes collected from 19 La Liga encounters. Equally, his tally of 11 goals and assists in all competitions in 2024/25 also places him ahead of Ndiaye (eight) and Beto (seven).
Ramirez will just be glad he’s finally managed to put his Everton ordeal behind him, with Moyes and Co not too disheartened that the 29-year-old is shining bright, considering the improved displays of Beto among other standout performers.
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