The Curious Case of Charly Alcaraz

Eyebrows were raised in the summer when Carlos Alcaraz was signed permanently.

Not that Alcaraz had not impressed during his loan spell from Flamengo following his arrival late in the 2025 January transfer window. The Argentine, while not establishing himself as a regular starter, had proved his value, scoring twice — including a winner on his Premier League debut for Everton against Crystal Palace — and providing two assists.

Both of those assists came for Beto, and it seemed that Everton had stumbled upon a partnership that could work, with Alcaraz’s direct approach and willingness to play through balls in behind, suiting how Beto prefers to operate.

In 774 minutes of Premier League action, Alcaraz ranked in the 86th percentile of attacking midfielders (in Europe’s top five leagues) for assists, in the 76th for shot-creating actions and 88th for progressive passes.

It was, then, a bit of a no-brainer for Everton to make Alcaraz their first permanent signing of the 2025 summer transfer window. He had been signed on loan with an option to buy.

Yet Everton elected to try and squeeze Flamengo. Some fans questioned that approach, though this writer is unsure why. It was sensible. Flamengo needed to sell a player who had failed to settle, and the opportunity was there to save money. In the end, Alcaraz signed for a fee that was reported to be around £12million. In the current market, not bad at all.

However, there were some signs that Everton, or particularly, David Moyes, were not wholly convinced. Alcaraz signed only a two-year deal. For a player of his age (22 at the time), it felt like an extremely short deal. Everton do have an option to extend it until 2028, but still, it is rare for younger players to be on such short contracts.

Alcaraz should have done enough to earn Moyes’ trust last season. He is a tireless worker, willing to play in several different roles and, when he does feature, he has a habit of making an impact.

Yet the arrivals of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Jack Grealish nudged Alcaraz down the pecking order, and he hardly played across the opening weeks of the season. He was harshly taken off at half-time in September’s EFL Cup defeat to Wolves, but did then come on to great effect against Crystal Palace on October 5, helping to swing the game in Everton’s favour.

Alcaraz’s chance was always going to come as injuries, suspensions and absences began to take hold, but there is definitely a case to say he was underused early on in the campaign.

But having come off the bench in the 4-1 defeat to Newcastle United at the end of November, Alcaraz has since started four of Everton’s five league games.

He played well and provided an assist in a disciplined, gritty team performance at Bournemouth, and showed flashes of what he can do against Nottingham Forest. But in the three games since then, Alcaraz has not just flattered to deceive — he has been downright poor.

We must remember that, despite his top-flight experience, Alcaraz has only just turned 23. He is still young and clearly needs patience.

But it is also fair to say that Everton need better from him, especially with key creators such as Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye absent.

Alcaraz was an early substitute for the stricken Dewsbury-Hall at Chelsea on December 13; not long after coming on, he played a blind pass towards Everton’s defence, which gifted Alejandro Garnacho a golden opportunity. Only a desperate James Tarkowski lunge and a poor finish stopped Alcaraz’s daft mistake from costing Everton a goal.

Against Arsenal a week later, Alcaraz was extremely sloppy. Under-hitting or misdirecting passes, dallying too long in possession. And it was the same against Burnley last Saturday.

The performance at Turf Moor was particularly frustrating. With Jack Grealish joining Everton’s other star names on the sidelines, Alcaraz had a chance to really strut his stuff against a team in the bottom three. To show he is capable of helping Everton create more chances on a regular basis.

Instead, he was hesitant in possession, often dallying too long on the ball after he had done well initially. There were multiple opportunities in the first half where Alcaraz — who is excellent at carrying the ball from deep — charged forward having spun his marker, but then the final pass let him down.

All that being said, Alcaraz has a habit of popping up in the right places, at the right time. He could have perhaps done better with a free header from a looping Tyler Dibling cross, which he instead directed right at Martin Dubravka, while an audacious bicycle kick in the second half might have looped over the Burnley goalkeeper on another day.

But the statistics paint a grim picture. Sure, Alcaraz has found opportunities harder to come by, so that must be taken into account. However, he is ranked in just the 41st percentile for attacking midfielders when it comes to progressive passes and the 32nd for shot-creating actions. He only ranks in the 75th percentile or higher for two possession-based metrics — pass completion (75th) and passes attempted (80th).

This run was — and still is — Alcaraz’s chance to really earn Moyes’ trust. His work ethic cannot be questioned, but his decision-making, for a player with such obvious quality, must improve. It is not just a case of Alcaraz taking risks; that is not a flaw. He is an attacking player who should be encouraged to try and make things happen. But the gulf in quality between himself and Dewsbury-Hall in key positions and moments has been quite stark at times.

With Merlin Rohl now back from injury, and the possibility that Harrison Armstrong could be recalled from his loan at Preston North End, Alcaraz needs to up his game in the coming matches. Whether he starts or ends up coming off the bench, Everton need Alcaraz to deliver some consistency.

Source: Sports Yahoo