Everton football chief Kevin Thelwell has explained their actions on deadline day.
Everton sold Alex Iwobi to Fulham and Tom Cannon to Leicester City, without any addtions arriving.
"I've also been asked why we didn't bring anyone in on the final day of the transfer window, despite the sales of Alex Iwobi and Tom Cannon," Thelwell told evertonfc.com.
"Both sales were good deals for the club financially. In terms of potential incomings, the key consideration was the players available on the final day of the window.
"The reality is that, at that stage in the window, players of the quality to improve us come with a premium price. Sean, the board and I have a responsibility to keep building a squad that's right for Everton, both in a football sense and financially, and we didn't want to jeopardise that.
"That included not fully utilising the maximum number of loan deals we could have made. Sean spoke last week about having a squad that has enough depth but also one where everyone in it can contribute and play their part.
"We were reluctant to bring in players we didn't feel were better than what we already had, and who were probably unlikely to get a lot of playing time.
"Of course, there is always room for improvement, and we did not sign all of our targets but, overall, it was a solid window working under challenging financial constraints, with the transfer fees raised from player sales also putting the club in a healthier position going forward."
