Farhad Moshiri must sanction Marcel Brands' new contract after Carlo Ancelotti praised Everton's Director of Football for his role in Abdoulaye Docuoure's summer arrival.

What’s the word?

In quotes shared by the Liverpool Echo, Ancelotti has thanked Brands for suggesting the Toffees made efforts to sign Doucoure from Watford ahead of the 2020/21 season.

The Italian tactician had sought to add an energetic presence in the engine room who could partner Allan, but saw efforts to sign Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg thrown out of the window after he made it clear he wished to leave Southampton for Tottenham Hotspur.

Brands presented Doucoure to Ancelotti as an alternative to Hojbjerg, having tried to sign the Frenchman for the past two years and he eventually sealed a £20m deal in September, following the Hornets’ relegation to the Championship.

Ancelotti has been amazed by Doucoure’s performances at Goodison Park since his arrival on a three-year contract, which is now noted to feature an option to extend by a further 12-months that either Everton can activate or is triggered by a set number of appearances.

“When we started to talk about the transfer window, Doucoure was on the list of the club," Ancelotti said. “He was not on my list, but we talked together and we both agreed to sign him.

“I think it was, after six months, a really fantastic signing because Doucoure is playing really well. Doucoure is really good physically and he's able to recover really fast, really quick.

“He doesn't show problems with his physical condition. He has played a lot of games, but he is still really good, fresh, and has no problems at all."

Get Brands signed up

Everton's majority shareholder Moshiri should take note of Ancelotti's praise for Brands' role in Doucoure's move to Goodison Park, as it shows the calibre of players that the Italian and Dutchman can sign when working together.

Doucoure has played more minutes in the Premier League this season (1,983) than any of other Toffees player, along with a joint team-high 41 successful tackles, second-most interceptions (29) and fourth-most key passes (18) at Goodison Park, per WhoScored.

Brands is expected to pen a new deal with his current £2m-a-season contract up at the end of May, but it has previously been speculated that Moshiri could wait until those terms expire before making a final decision on his continued role.

The 58-year-old has been a vitally important cog in the Toffees system since his arrival in the summer of 2018, with the former PSV Eindhoven figure in charge of Everton’s strategy across the first-team to the academy.

He also sits on the Blues board and Chief Executive Denise Barrett-Baxendale stated upon his promotion that Brands would work on delivering a long-term vision that has clearly worked wonders given the players signed in the past two years.

Ancelotti has previously commented on the “beautiful relationship” he shares with Brands and that Everton would only make signings if there was a total agreement between the pair, while also describing the Dutchman as an “important” part of the club.

So, Moshiri not giving his signature to a new contract could prove very detrimental to the long-term picture on Merseyside, and prevent Everton from signing players like Doucoure again in the future.

AND in other news, a £16m-rated enforcer is open to a summer transfer following Everton’s interest…