What Carlos Alcaraz did seconds after Everton goal as strongest possible transfer case made

Yahoo

26-05-2025

He could have been basking in the aftermath of heading Everton into a deserved lead. But with his teammates fighting against an increasingly-desperate Newcastle United, he was back defending his own box.
In the first half, Carlos Alcaraz was the first Royal Blue shirt to get out to Alexander Isak and put his body on the line to block the striker's effort from a back post corner. Nearly an hour later, he was throwing his torso in the way of an effort by Harvey Barnes to protect the lead he had just earned.
Between those blocks he forced Nick Pope into two impressive saves, forced Fabian Schar into a cynical foul on one of his surges from deep and then played five minutes of the second half clutching his ribs as he chased black and white shirts after being clattered on the halfway line.
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In a game that, in essence, meant little to Everton, Alcaraz played as though his career was on the line. With his future unresolved, publicly at least, the 22-year-old appeared to be fighting for the place he wants in this club's future.
Newcastle's success this season has been built around the midfield partnership of Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Joelinton. The latter was absent on this final day but the others were in the shadow of the loanee from Flamengo who has captured the imagination of the Everton supporters.
Whether his move will be made permanent is now a question on the lips of all associated with the Blues. This was an impressive 75 minutes in the north east, his glancing header from a Vitalii Mykolenko cross just the cherry on top of a man of the match display.
After the match, David Moyes kept his cards close to his chest. 'You'll need to wait and see like everybody else,' the Blues boss told the ECHO when asked about the player's future.
If this was the game on which his future was to be decided, he could not have done more.
Once again since Moyes' return, Everton secured a valuable if unexpected away win. Add Newcastle to Brighton and Hove Albion, Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest and Fulham to the long-list of clubs slain on their own territory amid the kind of season Everton yearn for.
When Moyes reflects on the impact of the Argentine, available for around £12m, it should not be lost that Alcaraz added a touch of class in so many of those dogged away wins - he was the difference at Palace, Fulham and now Newcastle.
Moyes does not want to be playing to spoil other clubs' parties, he wants it to be his side that is fighting for silverware and European qualification when May comes around. But he relished the way his side, 13th place secured and on the comedown from the emotional goodbye to Goodison Park, took on a Newcastle team with a trophy in the cabinet and Champions League football on the line.
At the end, with results elsewhere working for the hosts, both sides left St James' Park happy. Yet on the final whistle it was Jordan Pickford's chant that dominated the airwaves even in the arena that is more hostile than any to the Sunderland-born England number one.
Pickford was once again superb, producing a series of great stops - two from Dan Burn amid a series of first half corners as Eddie Howe's side looked to overwhelm the Blues. He also stretched to push clear a swerving Tonali effort then recovered to stick out a leg and stop Isak from poking the rebound in at the near post.
In the second half, his diving stop from Isak took place to the backdrop of blue flares being set off in the away end and thousands singing of his dislike for the hosts and Liverpool and the fact he is 'dynamite'. Pickford has caught himself singing the song around his home since it took hold at Craven Cottage and revelled in another top performance against a foe that ditched the dinosaur costumes that are common in this fixture out of fear the jibes just fuelled more brilliance. The tactic failed.
Beto, too, was key to this match. He curled his golden chance to double the lead wide but was a nuisance throughout. Instead of losing heart against the giant back three of Dan Burn, Sven Botman and Schar, he fought until he was replaced by Dominic Calvert-Lewin at the death. Beto dominated his centre back opponents, winning headers and shrugging them off the ball when they duelled on the ground. Moyes was repeatedly left furious at the decisions that did not go the way of his striker but can have little complaint over the impact one of the heroes of his second stint had on this match.
In Beto, Alcaraz and Iliman Ndiaye, whose mazy runs relieved the pressure on the defence when the momentum built against them, there was a glimpse of what could be the foundation of the forward line for next season - though improvements around them, and challenges to them, are needed.
Another of the many open questions is whether Calvert-Lewin will be part of that attack. The striker, courted by Howe last summer and during parts of this season, was given three supportive pats on his back by Moyes when he was brought on for the final minutes. He had a glorious chance to secure the three points and end the season with a statement when he picked up Dwight McNeil's ball on its way towards the overlapping Jack Harrison and found himself bearing down on Pope. His first effort was straight at the keeper and the rebound was skewed over the bar.
Of those who did know their fate heading into this match, Ashley Young started and was part of a rearguard effort that buckled under pressure from Tino Livramento and Anthony Gordon but held firm. When Blues academy product Gordon was replaced at half-time it offered respite for Young, who was not troubled in the second half. Doucoure emerged from the bench to earn his chance to end his Everton career with a win while loanee Jack Harrison and the out-of-contract Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane started. If this was the end, and it will not be for all of the 10 players in the 20-man squad facing futures that could be away from Everton, it ended on a high.
There were no tears or poignant waves to the away end from Alcaraz as he left the pitch after the match. He was halted by a club photographer for a smiling, thumbs up picture with close friend Harrison. Whether that picture will be the closing act of his time at the club, or represent the end of his years-long, cross-continent search for a club to call home, he could not have made a stronger case to stay. As reporters from the national media and North East press filed in for the post-match press conferences it was not the result, nor Newcastle's Champions League qualification that was the main topic of conversation. It was Alcaraz.