Everton expect to have a new owner in place anytime before the end of this year.
The Friedkin Group, led by Texan billionaire Dan Friedkin, will shortly complete the formalities of the Everton takeover, and they have already set up big plans.
Journalist Alan Nixon recently claimed that the prospective owners will ask several Everton backroom staff to re-apply for their jobs.
The position of Kevin Thelwell, the director of football at Everton, and other chief scouts are under threat, and they need to go “through a process” to continue their roles at the club.
Thelwell, however, is excited about the change that is about to happen and feels that the investment in recruiting young talents will be a step in the right direction.
What Thelwell has said about the prospective new owners
Thelwell feels that they have made great strides in revamping the academy, and it is primed to go from strength to strength under the new ownership team.
Once Everton tackle the PSR issues properly, they can invest more into developing more talents from the academy.
“I would say the biggest piece for us now is we’ve got a lot of good process in place,” said Thelwell to iNews.
“The biggest issue we’ve got across the whole building – because we’ve not been able to invest – is recruitment. First-team men’s, women’s, losing talent, recruiting at younger ages can be improved hugely.
“I would hope new ownership would be supportive of that process. Once we get that resource that can help us a little bit with programme stuff, a little bit with process stuff, a little bit with recruitment stuff, I think we’re going to be in a really exciting place.
“I think we’re ready for that next evolution, is how it feels. Assuming they [the Friedkin Group] get regulatory approval, it’s just now a case of getting the new owners in, getting them bedded in, not going crazy but certainly being able to take the next step.”
Revamping the academy is a must
It is really sad to see that not enough players are coming through the academy ranks these days at Everton.
Moreover, players who are making the senior grades from the academy are being sold elsewhere. Anthony Gordon, Ellis Simms, and Lewis Dobbin are some of the players the Toffees have sold in recent years.
The Toffees have badly struggled to meet the Premier League’s financial criteria, and they were docked points twice.
While the new owners will be expected to pump in money to make a strong senior squad, they must also ensure that the supply line from the academy to the first team functions smoothly.
Harrison Armstrong and Roman Dixon are two such young players who have terrific potential, and Everton must ensure they get proper opportunities in the first team.
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