The winter of many Evertonians’ discontent concerning the team’s inability to sign a right back has been going on for three years. The recent links to Alistair Johnston looked promising but in the past week, those links have gone off the boil and seem to be resulting from Celtic’s valuation and their current play in Champions League qualifying, and now it appears the Canada international is injured again. With the days dwindling in this transfer window, Everton cannot wait and their search looks
like it is now focusing on Barcelona’s Hector Fort even as links with Crystal Palace’s Daniel Muñoz continue to fly about.
Profile & Background
Héctor Fort is a 20-year-old Spanish professional defender who developed through FC Barcelona’s famous La Masia academy to break into the first team. After joining the youth system in 2013, he made his senior debut under Xavi in December 2023 against Royal Antwerp and has represented Spain at the youth level. He is a highly versatile modern full-back who stands at 185 cm, providing an excellent physical presence that allows him to compete effectively in top-flight football.
His primary strengths lie in his tactical flexibility and exceptional technical quality, making him comfortable playing as a right back, wing-back, or slotting over to the left side. Typical of a La Masia graduate, Fort displays high passing accuracy, immense composure under pressure, and impressive maturity for his age. His strong positional awareness and tactical intelligence help him make smart decisions in high-stakes matches, allowing him to fight for a regular role in the squad.
Héctor Fort completed a season-long loan move to Elche CF for the 2025–26 campaign to secure regular playing time. The deal was finalized on summer deadline day as a straight loan with no option to buy, ensuring his eventual return to Barcelona. This strategic move aimed to accelerate the development of the 19-year-old defender by testing his abilities away from Camp Nou.
During his spell with Elche, Fort made 14 league appearances and accumulated 482 minutes on the pitch. He maximized his limited game time by registering two goals and two assists, proving his capability to impact the attacking phase. However, his momentum was severely disrupted by a shoulder injury that required surgical intervention, sidelined him for a significant portion of the campaign, and restricted his overall impact before he returned to Barcelona this summer.
Analysis
Héctor Fort is a tactically flexible, technically secure full-back who is known for his positional intelligence, composure under pressure, and comfort playing on both the right and left flanks. Naturally a right-back, he has shown impressive maturity stepping into high-pressure situations on the left side of the defense, maintaining structural shape and handling tight spaces well to aid central ball progression. His strong decision-making, clean passing mechanics, and innate understanding of third-man combinations allow him to facilitate wide overloads and contribute heavily to Barcelona’s build-up play.
Héctor Fort’s positional heatmaps from his loan spell at Elche CF and his time in the Barcelona team reveal a high-volume right full-back who balanced defensive coverage with heavy attacking involvement. In his own defensive third, his activity remained concentrated along the right touchline, showing that he prioritized wide recovery positioning over central interventions.
In the middle third of the pitch, Fort’s heatmap showcases a high density of actions drifting into the right half-space. True to his La Masia training, he frequently inverted into central midfield zones instead of remaining static on the touchline. This tactical inversion allowed him to create numerical overloads in central areas, receive the ball cleanly under pressure, and link up with teammates to facilitate secure ball progression.
His highest-intensity heat signature appears deep in the opposition’s half along the right wing, where he operated with significant attacking freedom. Fort consistently executed timed overlapping runs to deliver crosses, while distinct heat clusters inside the right edge of the penalty box reflect his advanced positioning. This aggressive final-third presence directly fueled his attacking output of seven shots, five shots on target, two goals, and two assists during the campaign.
All data from SofaScore, FotMob, and WhoScored.
Current Value and Contract
Héctor Fort’s estimated market valuation is £10.25 million according to Transfer Market. This transfer value has experienced a steady increase since his breakthrough from the youth squad, where he was previously valued closer to £6.4 million. This upward trend reflects his progression into the first team and his long-term contract structure, positioning him as a highly valuable financial and sporting asset for the club’s defensive future.
Under his contract with FC Barcelona running through June 2029, He earns a base annual salary of approximately £850,000, which breaks down to a weekly wage of £17,000. Depending on individual and team performance milestones, his total yearly earnings can potentially rise to roughly £3,000,000 with bonuses included. A contract with Everton would be larger in salary but well within the team’s salary structure.
Potential of Transfer
Chances of it happening: 60%
Do I want it to happen: 100%
Do we need it to happen: 150% [perhaps this is desperation creeping in….]
The FC Barcelona full-back position is highly competitive for the 2026–27 campaign under manager Hansi Flick. The starting right-back position is firmly held by Jules Koundé. Currently, Héctor Fort is positioned as the primary backup and rotation option across both defensive flanks. Flick’s preference for tactical versatility means Fort’s ability to seamlessly fill in at right-back, wing-back, or left-back provides immense strategic value over a long season. It has been recently reported that Barcelona are open to selling Fort. Everton and Fulham are interested and it should not break the bank to get the player.
For Everton, would Fort be the young apprentice to another RB like Johnston or Muñoz or will he have a chance to shine. David Moyes generally does not cater to younger players as Dibling, Alcaraz, Aznou and Armstrong all know. What he does offer is a flexibility which Moyes loves. He can cover both the right and left side at RB and wing back. I could see him being the backup and even pushing to be the starting RB.
Everton have had a few players make the move between the two clubs. Gary Lineker, Gerard Deulofeu, André Gomes and Lucas Digne being the most notable. Perhaps young Hector Fort can be another great addition to the Everton squad.
