Everton majority owner Farhad Moshiri has mostly kept to himself since acquiring a 49.9% stake in the club. Aside from a few comments in a match programme a couple of months ago, he has said little publicly about his personal aspirations or what he has envisioned for the Toffees.
Club Chairman Bill Kenwright has taken on the spokesman role for the Iranian financier, from announcing the decision to let Roberto Martinez go, to the appointment of new manager Ronald Koeman.
Earlier today, Kenwright spoke again for Moshiri, this time revealing what the owner has in mind for the Blues.
“Farhad absolutely has a vision for this football club. It involves the Champions League and a new stadium.
“Is he going Roman Abramovic? No, I think that model is sort of gone, but he absolutely looks at Everton as his big adventure.
“I know my Everton, he knows the world game. Ask him about (Andriy) Yarmolenko – and that’s not a hint! – and he’ll say how he knows him inside out and backwards.
“He has been looking at football for his big adventure and met a lot of clubs and found the beating heart he was looking for in Everton.”
Kenwright also went on to talk about the Director of Football concept which Moshiri is said to want for the Blues.
“What I have picked up in the last four weeks is it is an important role and if done right it can add to a football club.
“It is modern football and if you get the right one it is a big plus. We are talking to various Directors of Football and Ronald (Koeman) has worked with a lot of them. He will embrace that, as well as the Everton way.
“So I would have thought yes, we are leaning towards appointing a Director of Football but Ronald has to be part of that process. Various first rate people have been mentioned."
The highest profile of those so far has been Sevilla’s Director of Football, Ramón Rodríguez Verdejo, commonly known as Monchi. A former goalkeeper, Monchi was appointed to his post in 2000 with two objectives: developing the club's youth system and implementing a scouting network within and outside Spain.
Their youth policy has been an unmitigated success, with numerous players (Alberto Moreno, Jesús Navas, Sergio Ramos, José Antonio Reyes) coming through the ranks and either staying at the club or being sold for vast profit.
He also established a system with over 700 scouts worldwide charged with identifying upcoming talent. Adriano, Dani Alves, Júlio Baptista, Federico Fazio, Seydou Keita and Ivan Rakitić are all products of that network, garnering a profit of over €200 million for the club, who have now won five Europa League trophies, including the last three consecutive tournaments. During his tenure, Los Rojiblancos have also won two Copa del Rey trophies and ten top-six finishes in the last fifteen years since the club came back up from the second division.