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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Tom Cavilla

Everton fans set for transfer window insight as Kevin Thelwell interview planned

Everton director of football Kevin Thelwell is expected to conduct a public interview before the end of this month, it has emerged.

Thelwell, who joined the Blues in February of last year, arrived at a tumultuous time for the club and endured an equally challenging second campaign at Goodison Park as Sean Dyche's side fought off relegation once again.

Losing Anthony Gordon during the January transfer window represented another problem to solve for the Blues, though no attacking reinforcements were added to the ranks despite Farhad Moshiri promising as much.

A big summer now awaits Everton as they look to refresh their squad in the coming weeks, though just who will be coming to the club remains to be seen. An insight into the club's plans could be forthcoming, with Thelwell set to conduct an interview in the next fortnight.

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This has been confirmed by the Everton Fans' Forum, who met with the club on June 1 to discuss a range of issues. In a tweet from the EFF account earlier this week, it was relayed: "The club made a commitment to improve communication with fans across all areas earlier in the season. An interview with Director of Football, Kevin Thelwell, is planned for this month".

It remains to be seen if the interview follows a similar style to Moshiri's open address to supporters at the start of this year, which saw the 68-year-old answer questions on transfers, the board, new stadium and his stance on selling the club.

Asked to comment specifically on the role of Thelwell during this chat, Moshiri said: "I think the director of football is important. Clubs which are now very successful all have directors of football. The process at Everton is a well-structured process, so there are requisition forms for a new player.

"Either the director of football or the manager will propose a player’s name then, once they have both signed, a document will be sent to the chairman and myself. The document will involve detailed scouting reports, recommendation of the manager and director of football and any references from experts who know the particular player, in terms of character and everything else.

"Once the chairman signs, I sign. That is well-structured. In the six years since I bought the club, I never proposed a single player. It goes through a well-structured system. Why hasn’t it worked? I think that is a big question as the structure is there. We have had Steve Walsh from Leicester, a very experienced scout, Marcel Brands, one of the top European directors, and now Kevin Thelwell.

"I think the reasons are that some of the deficiencies in various departments of football management were not addressed. Those are imperative to proper recruitment, that affects the performance availability and Financial Fair Play. Once you buy these players, you cannot buy additional players. We got very little out of these players.

"Our additional expertise in the medical and rehab department may support more utilisation. That is what we saw from the review - you need to have all the other areas in place. That is what has been taking place. Most things are at a good level but talent-spotting still needs to improve."

Earlier this week, the departures of chief executive Denise Barrett-Baxendale, chief finance officer Grant Ingles and non-executive director Graeme Sharp were confirmed by Everton. The club also said in an official release on Monday night: "A statement will be made about interim appointments and the future of the chairman in the next 48 hours."

At the time of writing on Thursday evening, no update on Bill Kenwright or boardroom replacements had yet been provided. Last night the All Together Now fan group released an open letter calling on Moshiri to act immediately with measures that can "heal" the club.

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