Moyes to face Newcastle in Carabao Cup as Friedkin Group seek sale and halt spending

David Moyes will take Everton into the Carabao Cup fourth round against Newcastle at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Thursday as he seeks to break a trophy drought while the club’s owners, The Friedkin Group, pursue a sale and have curtailed transfer spending.

Everton entered the season aiming for a European challenge and to end a trophy drought that will soon stretch into a 32nd year, but those objectives were compromised after The Friedkin Group signalled a change of direction by turning off investment in the transfer market and announcing they were looking to sell the club.

The cup tie offers Everton a route to silverware in a competition the club have never won and arrives after consecutive defeats by Chelsea and Arsenal, Everton’s only losses of the season; Newcastle will be backed by 7,732 fans after Everton allocated their opponents 15% of the ground.

Newcastle serve as a reminder of the League Cup’s potential to end long waits, having ended a 56-year drought with victory in the 2025 final when Alexander Isak led the line at Wembley in 2025, while Everton arrive with Thierno Barry as their sole striker following the calamitous end to the summer transfer window.

Barry, the 24-year-old French forward, started his second season in English football with four goals in the first two games but has struggled for consistency; he leads the Premier League this season with 12 big chances missed and Everton’s performances have dipped as those misses have accumulated.

There are also calls for more output from wide players Brennan Johnson and Jack Grealish and criticism of Moyes’s sparing use of Hayden Hackney, Tyrique George and Tyler Dibling, while Jordan Pickford’s recent form has become an added area of concern for the club.

Moyes, who received a tribute award from the Football Writers’ Association North in Manchester on Sunday night, reflected on working for owners with resolve and foresight, his desire for more British coaches to work abroad and his envy at the trophy collections of Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsène Wenger and José Mourinho; he recalled the unadulterated joy of winning the Europa Conference League with West Ham in 2023, ending that club’s 43-year wait for a major trophy, as a feeling he longs to experience again with Everton.

The 63‑year‑old Scot’s contract expires at the end of this season and talks over an extension have been repeatedly delayed; Moyes has said of Everton’s transfer-window fallout: “Look, it’s never going to be easy. You know what happens in these situations, there’s only one person who tends to get called out at the end of it. You know what I mean?” Everton made a £25m profit in the last transfer window and are the lowest net spenders in the Premier League over the past five years, while The Friedkin Group have stabilised the club’s finances.

“We need to start picking up results,” James Tarkowski, the club captain, said. “Even though we won against Ipswich, it feels, not like a slump, but it feels like we need to work our way out of this. It’s a big game on Thursday in the cup.”

There is recognition inside Everton of how important a win over Newcastle could be, and the team will visit St James’ Park in the league on Monday.