Most football clubs are transformed by a top manager or a raft of new quality signings. However, it seems that at Everton it is the director of football Marcels Brands who is slowly but surely turning around the fortunes of the Merseysider’s.
The Dutchman had a big reputation on his arrival from PSV Eindhoven last summer. He was known as a wheeler-dealer extraordinaire, who spotted diamonds in the rough and helped the Dutch club stay stable on and off the pitch. Brands has already started working his magic at Everton.
Doing some great deals
When Everton inevitably lost Senegalese midfielder Idrissa ‘Gana’ Gueye to PSG this summer, the Toffees hierarchy did not panic. Instead, Brands went out and signed a replacement Jean-Philippe Gbamin from Mainz, with money to spare too. The midfielder has all the attributes to be a very shrewd signing for the men from Merseyside.
The signing seems typical of the Dutchman’s work. He has a plan A and B it seems for every contingency. Then there is the absolute coup that is signing of striker Moise Kean for a reported fee of between £23-27million depending on which news outlet you believe.
Everton badly needed a striker this summer. I doubt many associated with the club believed that they could bring in one of Europe’s brightest young starlets. However, Brands did not feel deterred by the striker’s reputation and pulled off what could be the signing of the summer.
Everton finally seem to have a plan
There is a strange feeling amongst most Evertonian’s this summer. It is confidence in the man in charge of transfers. Unlike predecessor Steve Walsh, who was out of his depth as director of football at Everton, Brands seems to have a plan for the club and team.
Everton are still paying for Walsh’s time at the club. He was a great talent spotter for Leicester. However, he made some terrible moves in the transfer market, which lumbered the Toffees with a hefty wage bill and players surplus to requirement.
Walsh cannot take all the blame, though, bosses Ronald Koeman and Sam Allardyce must take some responsibility for the current massive wage bill at the club. Brands history suggests that he will go about trimming the Toffees squad with ruthless efficiency.
The Dutchman is likely to offload a number of players before the summer transfer window shuts on Thursday evening. However, he is also busy attempting to bring players in too. His signings so far show that he will also probably get a good deal when bringing players.
Things are looking up
Everton’s good run of form towards the end of last season, with big victories over the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United shows that the Toffees are moving in the right direction.
By the time the new season kicks off, the Merseysider’s will no doubt have a stronger squad than last season. Things are looking up on the blue half of Merseyside. The Toffees look to be outsiders for a top-six spot at odds of 7/2.
Even with just a few days left of the summer transfer window left, Brands’ work is not yet complete, though. The Dutchman has done a stellar job in his year or so at the Merseyside club. He has helped boss Marco Silva create a team of his own.
Slowly the Dutchman is helping change the club’s mentality shift of the whole club. If Brands has anything to do with it then the future will be bright for the underachieving Merseysider’s.
Will Everton have enough quality to finish in the Premier League top-six in season 2019/20?
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