Everton delight as the Friedkins close in on ‘leading contender’ with big name set to depart

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Everton are experiencing a lot of change both on and off the pitch following the takeover in December.

The Friedkins have helped to take Everton to Premier League safety ahead of the final games of the season.

Appointing David Moyes proved a real masterstroke which Farhad Moshiri was unwilling to approve towards the end of his tenure.

Moyes has proven a lot of pundits wrong along the way, but the Scot faces a huge summer on Merseyside in bolstering the quality of his squad.

The 62-year-old will be looking to his new recruitment set-up which has also seen considerable change since the Friedkins arrived.

Angus Kinnear will join Everton from Leeds United and he will lead the charge in the transfer window, but there are more appointments to follow.

• READ MORE: Exciting Everton ‘opportunity’ shared after the Friedkins meet with £1bn business owner

Chris Howarth leading contender for Everton role

Dan Purdy is also set to leave Everton at the end of the season in what has come as a real blow for the owners.

It was an unexpected decision for the 31-year-old to opt out of the long-term vision of the American owner.

According to The Athletic, Everton are already working on his replacement and Chris Howarth is emerging as a ‘leading contender’ for another role.

Howarth owns Insight Sport which is a data analytics company and the Friedkins have identified him as an option for the head of strategy position.

It really is going to be a big summer of change for Everton.

Kevin Thelwell is heading to Rangers as his contract expires at the end of the term and will not be renewed.

And then there is all of the player contracts which still need to be decided on.

Busy weeks lie ahead for the Toffees.

• READ MORE: Everton encouragement after image released from training speaks volumes about exit-bound star’s future

Everton making a start on contract decisions

This week has seen Moyes hold discussions with the players he wants to keep on Merseyside for the coming season.

Everton have a seriously long list of players who could potentially leave on a free transfer this summer.

It has been suggested Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s agent is now requesting fresh talks over his future as his contract nears its expiration.

Considering the amount of players who could leave, Everton need to retain some of them to lessen the work needed in the summer transfer window.

But they should not be keeping players just for the sake of it.