Brands: New Everton manager must believe in youth
Brands officially starts at Everton on June 1st
Written by Simon Austin — May 25, 2018
INCOMING Everton Director of Football Marcel Brands says he is looking for a ‘modern coach’ who will give the club’s Academy players a chance.
The 56-year-old formally starts his job on June 1st but is already playing a key role in appointing the successor to Sam Allardyce.
He said: “The most important thing is first to find a new manager. It is important it is a modern coach. If you think about what Everton’s plans are, I think a modern coach will fit in that profile.
“I think it also has to be a coach that wants to work with young players. If we have the philosophy about our Academy we don’t have to choose a coach that only wants to buy players.
“It is also important, maybe not now this summer, but the summers after, that our own Academy plays an important part in that philosophy.”
Brands has already been to watch 20-year-old Ademola Lookman, who has been a revelation since joining RB Leipzig on loan in January.
The forward scored his fifth goal in 11 games on the final day of the Bundesliga season as Leipzig narrowly missed out on a Champions League spot. Lookman's loan spell at Leipzig has ended and the German club are keen to sign him permanently.
“Of course I watched several games and looked at the players,” Brands said. "I saw also some players who were on loan to other clubs.”
Brands was credited with revamping PSV’s Academy during the eight years he was there, from 2010. During that time the likes of Memphis Depay and Andreas Pereira came through the ranks from Academy to first team.
“The youth Academy for a club is very important for me when I am going to work with a club,” he said.
“That was also one of the goals I had when I came to PSV and must also be one of the goals I have in Everton. The thought behind it has to be a long term thing. We don’t want to do things only with short-term ideas. It’s important we now find a structure for the long term.
“What people around the club will see is new signings, but behind the scenes we have to do a lot of work with other things.”
The Dutchman also said the club’s new manager would have a key say in any new signings.
“I always think it will work if you are going to take decisions about the players that the manager is involved in that,” he said “because he is going to work every day with them. I will take care of the long-term strategy.”
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