Are these all good appointments then?
Genuine question, and and I want the answer to be “yes”, or at least “probably” Everton are set to pull off a considerable coup by luring highly rated Manchester United academy director Nick Cox to work in a senior role at the club.
The Toffees are in the middle of a behind-the-scenes revamp under new chief executive Angus Kinnear and have moved for Cox, who has been at Old Trafford for nearly a decade and has led the youth operation since 2022, to take a newly created role at Everton.
The club currently have a vacancy at the top of their academy following Gareth Prosser’s departure last month.
The i Paper understands the move is at an advanced stage and comes after Everton brought Manchester City’s director of scouting and recruitment James Smith back to the club.
Having appointed Kinnear at the end of the season, the Friedkin Group (TFG) is assembling a formidable football leadership group and it is understood that the academy is seen as a pivotal part of its long-term plan to create a club that is once again challenging for honours.
Why is Cox leaving Man Utd?
Cox’s departure is understood to be amicable, but once he was headhunted for the Everton job he was excited by the opportunity.
He feels it is the right time to step away from United, having turned down roles at various clubs as well as governing bodies in recent years.
Considerable investment is planned in Everton’s academy and targeting Cox shows how serious they are.
Cox has recently earned his Uefa Pro Licence and has won almost universal praise for the culture he has created at United’s academy, which has cemented its reputation among the most successful at producing first-team players.
He has also been a very public face of the academy, regularly giving interviews and posting monthly bulletins on the club website on such matters.
What else is changing at Everton?
Everton are restructuring their academy operations after Prosser left the club to join Al Jazira in the United Arab Emirates last month. James Vaughan, the former head of academy recruitment and player pathways, left in April.
As expected when TFG completed their takeover at the turn of the year, it has been a period of unprecedented change at Everton ahead of their move to the Hill Dickinson Stadium in August.
Kinnear moved from Leeds United at the end of the season and has been joined by ally Nick Hammond, who is head of trading and negotiating. Chris Howarth has been appointed as head of strategy while they will also announce a new head of football operations shortly. Corporate headhunters Nolan Partners have been tasked with finding the right candidate.
Who is on Everton’s transfer wishlist?
Huge change off the field is set to be mirrored on it with Everton looking to bring in many new signings (potentially into double figures) to support David Moyes.
Although there will be no incomings this week, things will ramp up in the final week of June and a busy July is expected as Everton look to have new recruits in place for the start of pre-season.
Kyle Walker emerged as a possible target at right-back earlier this week and the England international is understood to be open to the move, although the club have other targets. The i Paper understands that Kyle Walker-Peters, who will become a free agent at the end of the month, is also on their list.
Everton have opened talks with Villarreal over striker Thierno Barry but will not pay the £33m release clause for the 22-year-old. While there are funds available to spend this summer, Everton intend to “box clever” in the transfer window with so many holes to fill in their squad.
Read more on NSNO – Nil Satis Nisi Optimum
