Everton wanted Dan Purdy to stay – his role is another to be filled in pivotal summer rebuild

The cycle of churn continues behind the scenes at Everton, with The Athletic revealing that head of recruitment Dan Purdy will be the latest key figure to leave in the coming weeks.

Put simply, Purdy’s exit was not part of the plan.

Unlike director of football Kevin Thelwell, whose contract was not extended, the 31-year-old was offered a role in the revamped football structure being put together by incoming CEO Angus Kinnear, who will leave Leeds United for Goodison Park next month. As such, news of his desire to leave represented something of a curveball.

Purdy was a valued member of Thelwell’s staff — held in high regard for his knowledge of the global game and ability to spot emerging or undervalued talent — and had been offered the position as head of player identification in Kinnear’s setup.

His destination is still to be revealed, but the expectation is that he will join another club this summer. To do so — as he was contracted beyond this season — his next employer and Everton will need to come to a settlement. Despite his ties to Thelwell, soon to join Scottish side Rangers when his Everton deal expires at the end of the season, a move to Ibrox is highly unlikely.

Perhaps some form of collateral should have been expected, given the extent of the change at Everton.

There are winners and losers in every regime change — people deemed expendable, others who are boosted up and those in the middle working out where they fit in. There are always some, like Purdy, who decide not to play a part in that next chapter.

Thelwell, a key ally, had put such a stamp on the footballing side that his exit always had the potential to cause upheaval. Ditto the fact that the new setup bears noticeable differences from what came before.

Everton, for example, will not have a director of football as such after this season. Instead, heads of department across the sporting side will report to Kinnear as CEO or the new director of football operations. That second brief is still to be filled, with the process being run by executive search firm Nolan Partners.

The other crucial distinction between the Thelwell and Kinnear structures is that recruitment functions will now be separated.

Before, Purdy led both the scouting of potential targets and joined Thelwell in speaking to rival clubs and players. Now the negotiation side will be handled by incoming head of trading Nick Hammond, who worked with Kinnear at Leeds. It is possible to view that one change as a dilution of the traditional head of recruitment role, which in itself will not exist at Everton beyond this season.

There is no doubt Thelwell and Purdy were operating under severe financial constraints in recent seasons as the club strained to make ends meet, but recruitment was at least their ship to steer. The signings of Iliman Ndiaye, Jake O’Brien and Amadou Onana — all of whom to varying extents constitute success stories — were made on their say-so. Likewise, those like Beto and youngster Youssef Chermiti, for whom the jury is still out.

Now, Everton’s new head of player identification — the role initially earmarked for Purdy — will instead function as something akin to a chief scout with added logistical responsibility.

Still, it is clear Purdy’s exit represents less-than-ideal timing before what is expected to be a busy summer. Fifteen player contracts are due to expire and many will not be retained. A squad overhaul is coming and Everton will need to hit the ground running in a recruitment sense as soon as the season finishes.

Add finding a replacement for Purdy to the extensive to-do list.

There remains a sense that positive steps have been taken to get other crucial pieces in place before the end of the season.

Work continues with Nolan on the director of football ops position, while Chris Howarth, who owns his data analytics company Insight Sport, is a strong contender for the head of strategy role.

Owners The Friedkin Group are interested in securing bespoke metrics designed to give Everton a competitive edge.

There is hope that Purdy’s replacement will be sourced in a similar timeframe.

In the meantime, the scouting team that operated below him remains in place and his role can temporarily be filled by those within the system, including manager of scouting operations Lee Sargeson, who joined from Brighton & Hove Albion in 2023.

This is a short-term solution. Ahead of a seminal summer, the sooner that void is permanently filled, the better.

Moyes, Kinnear, Hammond and co have started preparing for the big rebuild, with the latter to be given the task of negotiating new deals with out-of-contract players and speaking to other clubs over players. Coming with him will be Gary Penrice, a former Queens Park Rangers striker who has held recruitment roles at Leeds, Celtic and Leicester City and provides additional scouting expertise.

Purdy’s replacement will be sourced not through Nolan but Everton’s existing networks and contacts. The role is seen as a club function, rather than one specifically tied to Moyes and his staff.

Focus has turned to who will fill the position. During his time at West Ham, Moyes brought in former Cambridge United team-mate Rob Newman as head of recruitment.

Newman’s presence at Everton’s training ground and for the 1-1 draw against West Ham at Goodison last month prompted speculation that he would be joining. At the time, Everton officials played down the link as the role had been earmarked for Purdy.

Newman, it was said, attended as Moyes’ guest, but it would be no surprise if he was now put forward as a potential option by the manager. Former Leicester and Roma chief scout Jose Fontes has long been admired by TFG, while Kinnear is likely to play a key role in the hiring process.

Time is of the essence, but Purdy’s unexpected departure means Everton will have to balance finding the right successor with the need to start putting plans in place for a pivotal summer. That is no easy task.

(Top photo: Carl Recine/Getty Images)