Mauro Icardi to Everton? Free-Agent Striker Considered by Toffees
Everton are weighing up a move for Mauro Icardi as David Moyes hunts desperately for a centre-forward to lead his attack.
The Argentine, a serial goalscorer at Inter Milan and later a title-winner with Paris Saint-Germain, is a free agent after leaving Galatasaray when his contract expired at the end of the 2025-26 season. At 33, he is no longer the headline act he once was in Serie A, but his name has suddenly reappeared on the Premier League radar.
And it’s Everton doing the asking.
Toffees turn to the free-agent market
With the transfer window shut and only Thierno Barry available as a natural number nine in the senior squad, Everton’s options are painfully thin. The failed deadline-day move for Folarin Balogun has only sharpened the sense of urgency around Hill Dickinson Stadium.
The club have turned to the free-agent pool for solutions, and Icardi has emerged as one of the standout possibilities. According to TyC Sports journalist German Garcia Grova, speaking on 7 September, the striker has been offered to the Merseyside club, with his representatives understood to be open to a move.
The deal is not advanced, but Everton are actively considering him as they scour the market for experience and goals.
A proven finisher, even in a supporting role
Icardi’s last campaign at Galatasaray underlined what he still brings: goals. He struck 16 times in all competitions, often from the bench, as Victor Osimhen led the line as the preferred starter in the Super Lig.
In the league, Icardi scored 14 goals with a conversion rate of 24 per cent and outperformed his expected goals figure of 10.53, according to Sofascore. The instincts are still there. Give him a chance in the box and he usually punishes you.
He also operated on the biggest stage last season, facing the likes of Liverpool and Juventus in the Champions League. The intensity did not faze him. That matters when you are weighing up whether a 33-year-old can still handle the demands of English football.
Why Icardi fits Moyes’ immediate needs
Moyes does not need a project up front. He needs a finisher.
Barry, talented but raw, is still learning his trade and has been wasteful in recent outings. Everton’s build-up play often breaks down at the final touch, and that is precisely the area where Icardi has built his career. He is not the quickest, he will not dribble past three men, but he lives off movement, timing and ruthless finishing.
For a side that will not always dominate games, that profile is attractive. One chance, one goal. That is the calculation.
Everton also know that bringing in a short-term, high-level finisher could ease the pressure on their younger forwards, allowing Barry to develop without carrying the full weight of the attack.
Decision time on Merseyside
The question now is timing. Do Everton move immediately for Icardi, taking advantage of his free-agent status, or hold their nerve and wait for January, when a wider range of targets becomes available?
The risk of waiting is obvious: more dropped points, more pressure, and the possibility that another club steps in for the Argentine in the meantime. The risk of acting now is tying up wages and a squad place in a player whose best years are behind him.
Everton know exactly what Icardi is. A penalty-box predator, not a long-term solution. The next few weeks will reveal whether that is exactly what Moyes wants – or whether the club gamble on finding something better when the window reopens.
