Director of Football Marcel Brands has extended his contract at Everton agreeing a new deal today that will keep him at the club until the summer of 2024.
This isn’t a surprise as Brands has plenty of supporters in the corridors of power at Goodison Park including most importantly, Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti.
The two men have worked well together over the past eighteen months or so since Ancelotti took over as Blues boss in December 2019.
Last summer’s transfer window was generally seen as a considerable success as the Toffees signed high-profile talent in Allan, Abdoulaye Doucoure, James Rodriguez, Ben Godfrey and on-loan goalkeeper Robin Olsen.
All these players have made a positive difference to this Blues team, particularly the two midfielders and defender Godfrey who has been a real find this season.
The midfielders have brought much-needed energy, drive and defensive strength while Godfrey’s versatilty, pace and superb man-marking ability has added a new dimension to the Everton defence.
Rodriguez has had a mixed campaign in his first season in England. As I expected he has struggled with a series of injuries something that has been a problem for him for a while now.
When he has played he’s usually been different class in terms of his technical skill and creativity. In addition, he has produced some outstanding performances, particularly early in the season and at Goodison Park. Long-term though there are issues about how to get the best out of the Colombian and how he will fit into the still-evolving team.
However, some of Brands’ other signings have not been as successful and have raised questions about his judgement in the transfer market.
Most of all the one player he bought in who has highlighted this issue is young Italian striker Moise Kean. The 19-year-old, regarded as one of the brightest talents in Europe, was signed from Juventus in 2019.
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Kean certainly has talent, but he couldn’t settle on Merseyside or find a place in the Blues team and after failing to impress Marco Silva and Ancelotti he moved to Paris late last summer to join PSG on loan for the season.
Sorting out the future of this player wherever that is, seems key to the Toffees transfer plans this summer. If he is to leave, (as seems most likely), Everton need to ensure they get as much as possible for him and perhaps also a player too, something that has been mooted in a number of transfer stories.
Although Brands played a significant part in last summer’s additions, this season has again been an inconsistent one overall with good runs and performances mixed in with a string of bad results especially at home.
And another season has gone by without a trophy while the team’s hopes of qualifying for Europe hang by a thread. So Brands has another big summer ahead of him to secure more quality talent that can ensure further sustained improvement and possibly break that long barren run without silverware.