With the 2025-26 season coming to a close, we are into our season review series with a look at the full backs and how they did this season.
Moving into the new season there is a desperate need to address the right back position and some coverage for Vitaliy Mykolenko on the left. I have written this in my season review for the past three years so my hope is great but my worry is even bigger! Let us all hope that it is part of the early summer business that the club gets done so that I can relax about
this and worry about how England and Canada are doing at the World Cup!
Vitalii Mykolenko
G – 36 Min – 3165 Gls – 0 Ast – 1 YC – 6 RC – 0
Once again this year, the Ukrainian was a solid and alert defender, ranking in the 76th percentile for interceptions and 97th for clearances and 92nd for aerial duels won respectively in the Premier League. His work keeping high flying wingers under wraps this season showed his quality against the most potent attackers in the Premier League.
The issue comes when we look at his contribution going forward, which to be blunt was non-existent. If our team is to progress, his attacking numbers need to improve especially in progressive carries, successful take ons and shot creating actions which were all in the bottom 10th percentile of all players in the top five leagues. For this I have little belief in it happening. An overlapping full back should create chances, Mykolenko had only one big chance created all season and only 22 chances created which ranks him at the 66th percentile. Not good enough.
Mykolenko officially signed a long-term contract extension after the conclusion of this season, securing his place at the club until June 2029. This newly updated agreement, finalized just as his previous deal was nearing its conclusion, also features a club option to extend for one additional season. Financially, the renewal maintains his established salary structure, locking in base earnings of £58,000 per week to yield a guaranteed annual payout of £3,016,000.
He is with us for the long term so what do we do with him? If Moyes is here then it will probably be status quo. If there was a change in the manager there is a chance that he would be used as a backup to someone who has a better offensive/defensive balance or he could be used on the left side of a three man backline. He currently is playing this position for Ukraine and has been very successful there. This would allow wing backs to be introduced which would give the team a more potent attack.
Grade: C+ (Consistent defensively, crap going forward)
Seamus Coleman
G – 7 Min – 188 Gls – 0 Ast – 0 YC – 0 RC – 1
Three years ago I wrote:
“It is hard not to wax sentimental about our club captain but there aren’t many players held in as high a regard in the game as the 34-year-old. Though his best playing years are behind him, his absolute commitment to the cause and to his position as skipper remains as strong today as when he was bestowed with the honour.”
The only thing that has changed is that he is now 37! Last season he featured in 5 league matches and this season it was down to 3. He played a total of 196 minutes for Everton across all competitions this season and 100 of those minutes were in preseason. Only 18 minutes were in Premier League matches. Interestingly, in the same time period, he played 588 minutes for Ireland and was in the squad for every one of the international breaks.
When he announced his departure from the club with the end of his current contract I had hoped that his next step was going to be following Leighton Baines into coaching. He is currently away with Ireland and has not announced the end of his career. There appears to be a desire to continue playing for Ireland and it has been reported that Heimir Hallgrimsson would like him to find a new club so that he can keep Coleman in the squad. The list of possible options include Coventry, Wrexham, Celtic, Brentford and even a fairy tale return to Sligo Rovers.
What can be said is that Seamus gave his all for the Everton shirt at every turn and he will be considered as a club legend. My one regret was when the fans departed the stadium in the last match at Hill Dickinson when Coleman was brought out to say farewell. Our respect for him was, and always will be far greater than that moment.
Grade: A (Always 100%)
Nathan Patterson
G – 8 Min – 356 Gls – 0 Ast – 0 YC – 0 RC – 0
Nathan Patterson arrived in January 2022 and most people forget that he is only 23 years old. In the three and a half years since then, the Scot has yet to realize the potential that he showed earlier in his career. What can be said is that Everton conceded only 1 goal while Patterson was actively on the pitch.
Patterson’s season was heavily restricted by groin and hernia injuries, resulting in just eight total appearances, four starts, and 356 minutes of playing time. Moyes routinely favored playing O’Brien or Garner out of position at right-back, leaving Patterson in the wilderness. Despite his peripheral club role, Patterson was still named to Scotland’s 26-man squad for the upcoming summer World Cup and, in a similar fashion to Coleman,
The big question has to be what to do with Patterson this summer as the team rebuild continues. With Coleman’s retirement, a starting left back is the number one priority for the team in my estimation. Patterson is being given a fair shake with Scotland by Steve Clarke. Perhaps a good tournament will force the hand of Moyes and he will see that the young right back has something to offer the team next season. However, Patterson has exactly one year left on his current deal heading into the 2026 summer transfer window so there is a pretty good chance that he will be with another team before too long. I would argue that this was another missed opportunity for the club because of the manager’s stubborn desire to play a limited number of players.
Grade: D (Didn’t get a chance)
Jake O’Brien
G – 40 Min – 3,337 Gls – 1 Ast – 1 YC – 6 RC – 0
O’Brien continued to be our square peg in a round hole this season. Last season, the use of O’Brien solidified the back line and the team’s goals conceded was very low. This was not the case this year and as Tarkowski’s legs faded as the season progressed, Moyes only gave O’Brien one opportunity to play in his favoured role at centre half.
If we put the positional shift aside, his immense physical frame served him well, with O’Brien ranking near the top of the league in clearances and aerial duels won. He also successfully tackled the vast majority of dribblers he faced, utilizing his size and recovery speed effectively.
O’Brien is the future of the team at CB. His recent games with Ireland show this as did the few chances he did get to play. In January, when Keane was suspended, Everton were undefeated with O’Brien playing with Tarkowski in the middle. Moyes has to let O’Brien do his job and forget this right back codswallop!
Grade: B (Better in the middle)
Click here for the full 2025-26 Everton Season Review series where we recap every aspect of the campaign that just ended.
