So, it’s official. Everton have announced the appointment of Kevin Thelwell as their new Director of Football, after Marcel Brands was sacked in December.
The 48-year-old joins from New York Red Bulls, where he worked as Head of Sport following a successful period at Wolves.
Thelwell impressively helped take Wolves from the Championship to the Europa League, making a number of shrewd signings along the way.
Let’s take a look at some of his best additions…
Diogo Jota
Everton fans won’t enjoy reading about Diogo Jota given his success in a Liverpool shirt, although there’s no denying that he’s a fantastic player.
Interestingly, it was Thelwell who brought the Portugal international to England from Atlético Madrid in a bargain £12m deal, before Wolves sold him to Liverpool for £41m.
Ruben Neves
This is arguably the best deal Thelwell has ever pulled off, given the context of the situation.
Ruben Neves was playing Champions League football for Porto before Wolves came calling, while they were playing in the Championship.
It seemed like an impossible deal given the circumstances, but nevertheless, Thelwell somehow agreed a £15.8m deal with the Portuguese giants.
Adama Traore
Adama Traore needs no introduction for those who follow the Premier League.
The Spaniard lit up English football with his mesmeric dribbling skills, before joining Barcelona in January.
It was Thelwell who plucked Traore from the Championship, after realising there was an £18m release clause he could trigger.
Once again, Thelwell was responsible for bringing a hugely effective player to Molineux for a reasonable fee – he is clearly someone who thrives as a Director of Football.
Hopefully, he can do a better job at Goodison Park than Brands did.
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