Brands unveils ruthless new Everton transfer policy
Everton director of football Marcel Brands has revealed a plan to get rid of up to twelve first team players as the new Blues regime continues to gather pace.
The Mirror reports today that the Dutchman has a list of a dozen players identified who will be leaving Everton this summer.
Most of those names will be pretty uncontroversial such as Ashley Williams, Joel Robles, Ramerio Funes Mori, Kevin Mirallas and Sandro Ramirez.
But a few of the names apparently on his list might surprise Everton fans.
For example the paper claims that regardless of whether his move to the MLS comes about, Wayne Rooney will also be on his way out.
I don’t have a problem with getting rid of Rooney to be honest. He hasn’t really shown the kind of commitment to Everton that might have been hoped from him after his high-profile return last year.
Although he had a decent season overall last term, it was clear he didn’t enjoy life in the Sam Allardyce era but then who did!?
However rather than waiting to see the outcome of what appeared to be inevitable further changes this summer, he was ready to jump ship and move to the MLS at the first opportunity.
So given that, his age and his wages I’d be happy for him to go.
Also being shown the door is the midfielder Davy Klaassen. He had very little impact last season but that was partly down to his having few consistent chances in the first team. Does he deserves another chance?
Another player being mentioned is Ademola Lookman. This would be a much more controversial decision.
Lookman has just finished a very impressive loan spell in Germany at RB Leipzig. He netted five times and created three assists in the Bundesliga while earning rave reviews for his all-round play.
I’ve said on this site before that Lookman should be a part of Everton’s plans for next season. The former Charlton youngster is a really talented forward with great potential.
Given the chance to start regularly he showed that potential at Leipzig and they want to keep him.
With his pace, dribbling, creativity and finishing ability he could certainly play a role in a more dynamic and effective Blues frontline. So I think it would be a bad decision to sell him.
Sell before you buy?
As well as all these player rumours, there was another potentially important statement of new transfer policy in the Mirror piece.
Brands is quoted as saying to the question, would Farhad Moshiri put another £150 million odd into player purchases, that the answer is no.
This could be a very significant decision with major implications and seems to represent a fundamental change of direction. Are we going back to the David Moyes era?
Brands says that new player purchases must come after he and manager Marco Silva have trimmed the squad.
All of that is fine in itself. It’s obvious Everton need to do some significant re-structuring and streamlining of the first team.
However there might be several issues that make this strategy more difficult to accomplish.
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First of all are there going to be many takers for half of the players Brands wants to ship out? Will there be many teams queuing up to buy the likes of Williams or Mirallas?
So some of these players might prove really difficult to get off the Blues books.
And if the club can’t find buyers will they just cut they’re losses and sell for a much lower fee or release them without getting a transfer fee at all?
Also with the World Cup now less than ten days away, I think it’s important Everton make a statement and try to secure at least a few of their top targets before the tournament gets started.
Otherwise the club might end up having to pay much more for those players if they have a good World Cup,(although it might work the other way if they have a terrible tournament!), or find they are in a fight with rivals who can offer more money or European football.
Next: Who might be in and out of Goodison?
If Everton get to mid July without having made any substantial signings I would be worried. However that’s a worst case scenario I don’t think is likely with Brands in charge.