Everton 2019 summer schedule and important dates

UPDATE: Dates below have been revised as of June 26th.

As the 2018-19 season winds down, fans are already looking ahead to next season, and more importantly the upcoming summer transfer window which promises to be another frenzy of activity with the Premier League replete with television and commercial money.

While Manchester City and Liverpool are expected to build squad depth, the remaining sides in the top six will likely splash out the cash to try and close the growing gulf between them and the top two. Manchester United in particular will clean house under Ole Gunnar Solksjaer while Arsenal also have some rebuilding to do after an underwhelming first season defensively for Unai Emery. Tottenham Hotspur can finally be active in the transfer market again after completing the opening of their new stadium, and Chelsea might or might not be stuck with a two-year transfer ban which could have implications for the whole league.

Everton for their part will be disappointed with their finish, but under Marcel Brands and Marco Silva the club has a direction and a purpose, and that will dictate their activity this summer. The pair have said that they have already identified where they want to improve and also have a list of targets in place, but the main focus at Finch Farm will likely be on lowering the wage bill by getting rid of deadwood from the huge squad that the pair have inherited from regimes past.

Wolverhampton Wanderers might have a European campaign to plan for, but they along with Leicester City and Watford FC will all be looking to strengthen their starting XIs and adding depth as they look to challenge the top six who have looked vulnerable this season.

FIFA have deemed that the summer transfer window must be open for at least 12 weeks, and with the Premier League deciding to close the window before the first game of the season, the window will open at midnight BST on Thursday May 16th, and close at 5pm BST on Thursday August 8th with the first game of the 2019-20 season to be played the next day.

Only domestic transfers will be possible though until June 11th when FIFA’s international window opens with the Transfer Matching System active. Additionally, since most contracts expire on June 30th, many deals will not be made official until July 1st or later.

No players can be loaned after the August 8th deadline, and only free agents can be added to the squads after that. Players can still be sold to foreign clubs after the Premier League deadline, until their respective deadlines - France: 11th June – 31st August, Germany: 1st July – 31st August, Italy: 1st July – 18th August and Spain: 2nd July – 31st August.

The Championship has decided to match the Premier League’s deadline date for transfers, but can still loan players until August 31st, while clubs in Leagues One and Two can continue to trade players until August 31st.

Everton summer key dates -

May 12th: Last Premier League game of the season at Tottenham Hotspur

May 16th: Premier League transfer window opens

June 7th: Retained and released players lists submitted

June 11th: FIFA international transfer window opens

June 13th: Premier League fixture release

July 7th: Pre-season friendly - Everton at Kariobangi Sharks (Nairobi, Kenya)

July 14th: Pre-season friendly - Everton at FC Sion (Bagnes, Switzerland)

July 19th: Pre-season friendly - Everton vs AS Monaco (Bagnes, Switzerland)

July 24th: Pre-season friendly - Everton at Wigan Athletic (DW Stadium)

July 27th: Pre-season friendly - Everton vs FSV Mainz and Sevilla (Mainz, Germany)

August 3rd: Pre-season friendly - Everton at Werder Bremen (Bremen, Germany)

August 8th: Transfer deadline day

August 9-12th: First weekend of new Premier League season