Brands: Busy Job - But Blues Will Be Ready

Marcel Brands is ready for the "busy job" of helping to shape Everton's 2018/19 squad - as he vowed the Blues will be ready for the new season.

The new Director of Football, who also spoke of how he has seen what a "huge club" Everton is during his first week on Merseyside, revealed on Monday that the Toffees will be looking to trim the first-team squad down from its current size of 38 players before looking at the possibility of bringing in fresh faces.

With the transfer window due to close on August 9, three weeks earlier than in previous years, and with the World Cup starting on June 14, there is a limited window of opportunity for Brands and new manager Marco Silva to put together their squad. 

But the Dutchman, who officially took up his role on June 1 after joining from PSV Eindhoven, is convinced the Toffees will have a strong group of players ready for the start of the new campaign.

“Because of the time of the year, you have to focus on the transfer window and the most important thing is to prepare a good squad for next season,” Brands told evertontv.

“Most of the time will be spent preparing for the 2 July when we start [pre-season training] but also for the beginning of August when the transfer window will close in England. We have a busy job to make a good squad.

“We have a lot of players and some we will have to sell. We have to analyse the squad and find a few targets that we want as new signings.

“We have a lot of good players and a lot of good young talent. We also have a few players coming back from loan periods. So first of all we have to look at our own squad, which players we can decide can go on for next season and some players who don’t have prospects here, maybe we have to offload them. Maybe there will be some interest from other clubs.

“We have to take decisions in that period and that will be one of the most important things.”

Brands - alongside Silva - was officially unveiled at a press conference at USM Finch Farm on Monday afternoon.

While he has been in the job only a matter of days, Brands has been struck by the size of the Club that he has joined and is pleased to have found a “professional organisation” upon leaving PSV Eindhoven for the Blues.

“One of the questions I was asked [at the press conference] was, 'Can you compare coming from a big club like PSV to Everton? I think this Club is bigger,” he added.

“It is a huge Club with huge fans and playing in a huge competition. So compared to PSV, I am coming from one big club to another big club.

“I was very impressed in the first few days. I came in Friday morning and met [Chief Executive] Denise [Barrett-Baxendale]. I spent all of Friday meeting very friendly people, and I had a very warm welcome. I have come into a very professional organisation.

“David [Unsworth] showed me around and gave me an impression about USM Finch Farm. I am very impressed. I was back in again on the Saturday and the first impression is very good.”