Everton Director of Football Marcel Brands has given more details about how the club went about securing their new signings in this summer transfer window.
In a revealing and detailed interview with Evertonfc.com, Brands outlined how Everton sought to strengthen the squad and get those players they wanted through the door.
Brands praises the efforts and support of all the key people in the Everton hierarchy. Not just manager Marco Silva but also people like Chief Executive Denise Barrett-Baxendale and the legal team that helped draw up last-minute contracts as Everton secured four new players on deadline day.
This is a clear indication that the whole of the Blues power structure was working together to secure those players.
Such a coherent approach is surely a good sign for the medium to long-term and indicates that the club can finally start to make some consistent progress on and off the pitch.
In addition Brands re-emphasise that the long-term priority is to build on the strong traditions of Everton’s youth system.
Most of the players the Blues have brought in are young too, which fits a strategy of building a squad for the long haul.
So now what might Everton fans expect going forward?
The opening game of the new Premier League season at Wolves gave much to be positive about although old weaknesses, especially defensive ones, remained.
The four new players signed on deadline day are all to come into the team and so it certainly seems that Everton fans will have to be patient as these players bed into the side.
The two new central defenders will surely come into the team as soon as possible, especially as Phil Jagielka is sitting out three matches due to his red card against Wolves.
Whether that means the Blues will play with three at the back or not remains to be seen.
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As for midfielder Andre Gomes and forward Bernard, they might take longer to find their place. Gomes has been recovering from an injury and Bernard hasn’t had a club for several months since being released by Shaktar Donetsk.
Gomes passing ability and Bernard’s instinctive and skillful play should add an extra dimension to Everton’s attacking football. Hopefully too Bernard can strike up a really productive partnership with his fellow Brazilian Richarlison. That might be a real bonus for the Blues given the mercurial Bernard’s obvious talent.
In other news it’s been confirmed that Nikola Vlasic has moved to the Russian club CSKA Moscow for a season-long loan.
This move would seem a good idea for the player as it’s very unlikely he would be featuring much for the Blues this season. Let’s hope he has a good season and perhaps can come back to Everton next summer a better player.