Everton will be armed with a competitive transfer budget for the first time in three years this summer as the club begin the process of revamping the academy under new owners the Friedkin Group.
The Toffees signed just one player in the winter transfer window – a loan deal for Flamengo midfielder Carlos Alcaraz – and walked away from several they didn’t feel were right to protect their profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) position.
While no-one believes Everton are anywhere close to safe in the Premier League, the Friedkins were able to take a more “strategic” view of recruitment thanks to the upturn in results under David Moyes.
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Read MoreThree straight wins have put vital breathing space between them and the relegation zone and meant there was no sense of panic in their transfer dealings or the need to – in the words of one insider – “do anything rash” that would compromise their PSR position.
While Everton ideally wanted a minimum of two incomings there was disruption to the club’s planning when Sean Dyche left, with Moyes wanting influence over any incomings and a mid-window redrawing of priorities. That meant Kevin Thelwell-led deals for the likes of Lyon winger Ernest Nuamah were ultimately mothballed as Everton chose to keep their powder dry. There were funds available but spending big in January would have necessitated sales before 30 June.
The i Paper understands that the club walked away from a move for West Brom’s Tom Fellows – a player admired by Moyes and also on Thelwell’s watchlist – because the price quoted was too high. Everton are unlikely to revive that interest in the close season.
Insiders say with a new accounting year kicking in by 1 July, financial restructuring of debts and “significant” PSR headroom, the club’s position will be much stronger as they look to restructure a squad that will lose up to 12 players in the summer.
Moyes hinted at that in Friday’s press conference, admitting the window could have been “better” but was conducted with one eye on the future.
“We’re feeling much better,” he said.
“We think in the future, there’s a great chance we’ll be more competitive in the transfer market.”
David Moyes is planning a summer overhaul of his squad (Photo: Getty)Inside Everton there is a feeling they will need to strengthen in virtually every area, with work having already begun on identifying potential targets. A permanent deal for Alcaraz is on the table if he hits a certain number of appearances, which gives the club control over whether or not to trigger the clause.
There is also the framework of a deal to sign Chelsea’s Armando Broja although Everton are likely to renegotiate the terms of that even if the forward was able to impress between now and the end of the season. He should be ready to return in three or four weeks, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin about a fortnight behind him, and the lack of options means he should get opportunities when he is fit again.
Everton face a delicate act of balancing their short- and long-term needs, but work has begun on the latter, with a source anticipating “substantial” incomings in the coming months.
Indeed The i Paper can reveal Everton are set to make a series of new hires as they attempt to shake up their academy and maximise the potential of their youth system.
The club are looking to employ several scouts, locally and across various regions, and will also employ new youth coaches, including a goalkeeper specialist.
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Read MoreAlongside financial difficulties and a turbulent few years trying to survive in the top flight, rival clubs have persuaded their brightest prospects to leave.
Manchester City took forward Emilio Lawrence and defender Jayden Lienou in recent years, as well as a coach from the academy. Chelsea poached full-back Ishe Samuels-Smith when he was 17. Aaron Epia, a 16-year-old defender, went to Newcastle United.
Asked last year about the likelihood of academy players making the step up to the first team, Dyche was critical of the output.
“If there was an 18-year-old here who I thought was good enough to play in the first team, he would be playing,” Dyche said. “But there is no one I have looked at and thought, ‘You are ready to jump in’ — and I must say that is not just Everton.”
Under the leadership of Thelwell, Everton want to reposition their academy as a leading producer of talent that can attract the best young players.
They came close to signing Mason Melia, who made his senior debut at 15 and has already played regular first-team football for St Patrick’s Athletic, but he agreed a move to Tottenham Hotspur, which will start next year, for an initial base fee of £1.6m. The 17-year-old forward is considered a huge prospect, and it was a record for a League of Ireland player.
Everton’s academy has proved a rich, fertile ground for young footballers over the years. One that has produced Wayne Rooney, sold to Manchester United for £20m in 2004, and, more recently, Anthony Gordon, who joined Newcastle for £45m two years ago.
In recent years, Lewis Dobbin was sold to Aston Villa for £10m and Ellis Simms went to Coventry City for a fee that could rise to £8m, depending on his performances.
There is strong belief that the club can reboot the academy and, in the long run, produce top quality players and a team competing at the top half of the table they want to stay in.
It did not help that Everton served a two-year academy transfer ban, between 2018 and 2020, for offering inducements to a player and his family to sign for them. But half a decade later there will be a renewed focus to re-establish the club as a leading destination for young footballers.
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