Everton identify Steve Hitchen as their main priority for director of football role
Everton have identified former Tottenham transfer chief Steve Hitchen as their first choice for the vacant director of football position, according to the Daily Mail.
Hitchen left Spurs last week where he was their director of technical performance yet he could be thrown straight back into the footballing fire by the Toffees.
They are looking to fill the void vacated by Marcel Brands in December and have been reviewing their recruitment operations ever since.
Former Wolverhampton Wanderers sporting director Kevin Thelwell has also emerged as a contender for the role but Hitchen is still the lead candidate at this stage.
The Daily Mail report that Bill Kenwright is taking a very hands-on approach in the recruitment process for the director of football but Farhad Moshiri is backing Hitchen.
Urgent agenda
This needs to be sorted and done so as soon as physically possible so the new man can get to work alongside Frank Lampard and the club’s owners to start making moves for players who could sign in the summer.
The scouting and recruitment process is a 365 day-a-year operation and clubs across the country will already be making contact with players’ agents and selling clubs over potential summer targets.
Everton need to be among those clubs and this appointment needs fast-tracking through as a result.
The recruitment has been a source of great concern in recent years with a mismatch of players coming into the club leading to identity clashes and a string of managerial casualties as a result.
Lampard could be a long term solution in the Goodison Park dugout if they can get the recruitment right and they give him time to settle the new faces into the Premier League.
In other Everton news, this Toffee was mocked by Newcastle fans in elaborate fancy dress on Tuesday.