Why Oliver Slater arrival could help Everton tap into new emerging talent pools

Oliver Slater's arrival at Everton's could signal a shift to the Asian market.

The Blues' business has been largely focused on the domestic and European markets in recent years.

For example, last summer they signed the likes of Jack Grealish, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Tyler Dibling from English clubs, Adam Aznou from Germany and Thierno Barry from Spain.

Everton have recently been linked with Ayase Ueda, the prolific Japanese striker who is starring at the World Cup.

However, the last Asian player that they actually signed is Li Tie, who played for the Toffees between 2002 and 2006.

The Bolton-based staff member could point them in the direction of emerging talents from the region.

Why could Oliver Slater transform Everton's recruitment policy?

Slater previously worked at Newcastle as a positional analyst, but he will take up the role of senior recruitment analyst at Finch Farm.

During his time with the Magpies, he was tasked with identifying South Korean talent while the North East club were there for pre-season last summer.

Eddie Howe's side ended up adding Seung-soo Park to their ranks, who has been labelled as the 'Korean Mbappe'.

Now, Slater could help the L3 outfit to find gems in that market, given his previous experience with a switch in transfer policy from the Friedkin Group.

There are plenty of examples for Everton to follow

Several Premier League teams have had success with players from the region.

Son Heung-min was one of the best players in the division when he was at Tottenham.

Wataru Endo has proved to be a solid addition for city rivals Liverpool, who previously had Takumi Minamino.

Brighton's Kaoru Mitoma is regarded as one of the most dangerous wingers in the league.

Ao Tanaka from Leeds is another Japanese talent who has performed well in the top-flight and has starred at the World Cup.

Hwang Hee-chan was also a solid player for Wolves before their recent plight.

If the Merseysiders can pick up talents like that, before they become mainstream and cost a lot more, it could be a very valuable recruitment strategy.

Slater's appointment makes it more likely, although, they may still choose to shop in markets that they are comfortable in, rather than moving to a new one.