HERE WE GO; Michael Keane of Everton in action during the pre-season friendly between

Michael Keane of Everton in action during the pre-season friendly between Coventry and Everton at The Coventry Building Society Arena on July 30, 2…Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images
Michael Keane had ‘significant’ interest in January but didn’t leave Everton for two reasons
Tue 4 February 2025 21:00
Tom Procter
In the end, it was a rather quiet transfer deadline day for Everton.

There was a lot of speculation in the days and weeks leading up to the final day of the window, with Everton have been finally taken over by The Friedkin Group in December.

But ultimately it was a day where not a great deal happened.

Everton signed Carlos Alcaraz on loan from Flamengo, which was announced very late in the end by the club.

There was some talk of Everton bidding for winger Tom Fellows with just hours to go. But that move didn’t materialise.

And it was pretty quiet on the outgoings front too, with only Harrison Armstrong leaving to join Derby County on loan.

One player who might have left was Michael Keane. But he stayed put, and a couple of reasons have now been offered as to why that was.

Why Michael Keane didn’t leave Everton in January transfer window
Michael Keane of Everton scores his team’s second goal under pressure from Cameron Burgess of Ipswich Town during the Premier League match between …
Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images
Keane’s future was a point of interest coming into the January transfer window.

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The defender is out of contract in the summer and stands to leave as a free agent then.

It was recently claimed that Keane had received no offers to leave Everton amid interest from Sheffield United.

And in the final days of the window, nothing really changed for Keane.

Late drama in an otherwise low-key window for Everton:

🔵Why Alcaraz deal ran into early hours
🔵PSR factor + summer rebuild prioritised
🔵Wingers targeted
🔵Late striker search ft E.Ferguson
🔵Summer scope/priorities – bodies needed in most positions!https://t.co/aeZHoQc6z6

— Patrick Boyland (@Paddy_Boyland) February 4, 2025
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According to The Athletic, the player actually did have ‘significant interest’ from clubs in the Champions and also clubs ‘further afield’.

However, the publication suggests there were two key reasons why no club ended up acting on their interest.

It’s suggested Everton would have wanted a loan fee for Keane, and also that coverage of wages proved prohibitive for these clubs.

Keane could yet come in handy for Everton and David Moyes
Seemingly, there just weren’t any suitable offers for Keane to leave in January given the finances involved for potential suitors.

But Keane still being an Everton player isn’t such a bad thing for David Moyes.

While it’s practically certain he’ll move on in the summer, it’s good that Everton still have an experienced centre-half to call on if needed.

Moyes is now playing three centre-backs at once in Jarrad Branthwaite, James Tarkowski and Jake O’Brien.

So the potential for Keane to have to come in and cover is slightly greater than it was before.

We’ve seen Moyes get a tune out of several underperforming players already, and Keane may also improve under the Scot if given the chance to plaPrivacy Settings

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