Mauro Icardi's Potential Move to Everton: A Solution for Moyes’ Striker Dilemma

Everton’s search for a centre-forward has taken a familiar turn: when the window closes, the free agents come into focus. This time, the name on the table is a heavyweight. Mauro Icardi, once the ruthless spearhead of Inter Milan and a title winner with Paris Saint-Germain, has been offered to the club and is under consideration as a potential short-term fix.

David Moyes needs a number nine. Desperately.

With Thierno Barry the only natural senior striker in the squad, the lack of depth up front already looms as a structural flaw in Everton’s season. The failed deadline-day move for Folarin Balogun only sharpened the problem. The club pivoted immediately to the free-agent market, and that is where Icardi has appeared as a live option.

Icardi on the market, Everton on alert

Icardi, 33, is without a club after his contract with Galatasaray expired at the end of the 2025–26 campaign. His CV is heavy with goals and big nights: Inter Milan, PSG, Galatasaray, Champions League ties against Liverpool and Juventus. What he does is simple. He finishes.

According to TyC Sports journalist German Garcia Grova, speaking on 7 September, the Argentine striker has been offered to Everton. The message from his camp is clear enough: they are open to the idea of a move to Merseyside and see the Blues as a realistic next destination.

Everton, for their part, are weighing it up. They want another forward. They know the risk of going into the heart of the season with only Barry as a recognised nine. The question is not whether Icardi can score; it is whether he is the right piece, at the right time, for Moyes’ system and the club’s broader plan.

A finisher past his peak – but still deadly

No one will pretend Icardi is the explosive force he was in his prime at San Siro. The legs have slowed. The highlight reels are shorter. But the instincts remain.

Last season at Galatasaray, he scored 16 goals in all competitions, often starting on the bench with Victor Osimhen preferred as the main striker. In the Super Lig alone he hit 14 goals, converting 24 per cent of his chances and outperforming an expected goals figure of 10.53, according to Sofascore. Those are the numbers of a forward who still knows exactly where to stand and exactly when to strike.

He is not going to stretch defences with pace, and he will not dazzle with dribbles. What he offers is penalty-box clarity: one touch, one chance, one goal. For a side that often struggles to turn pressure into points, that kind of edge is hard to ignore.

Why Moyes might be tempted

Moyes’ Everton is built on structure, discipline and efficiency. They do not flood the pitch with flair; they look for reliability, especially in the final third. In that context, Icardi makes sense.

He has faced elite opposition recently enough to prove he can still operate at a high level. Featuring in Champions League games against Liverpool and Juventus last season, he showed he can still handle the intensity and the scrutiny. Dropping him into L3 would not be a leap into the unknown.

Barry, by contrast, is still learning on the job. His movement is raw, his finishing inconsistent, and recent performances have underlined that inexperience. He needs time, minutes and patience. Moyes cannot afford to stake an entire campaign on a developing striker who is still finding his feet.

Icardi would not block Barry’s path entirely, but he would change the dynamic. The youngster could learn off a seasoned finisher, while Moyes would gain a proven option to close out tight games and punish half-chances.

Decision time at Goodison

Everton now stand at a crossroads. Move for Icardi now and they plug a glaring hole with a veteran specialist. Wait until January and they keep their powder dry for a younger, more long-term target, but risk dropping points in the meantime through a lack of cutting edge.

The offer is on the table. The numbers back his continued value. The need for goals is obvious.

Whether the Toffees act now or gamble on waiting could define how much this season is about survival, and how much it can be about ambition.