Everton chief Farhad Moshiri must see that Marcel Brands puts pen to paper on a new contract at Goodison Park so that the Dutchman can implement stage two of his vision for the club.

What’s the word?

According to the Daily Mail, Brands is close to signing new terms to end speculation over his future as the Toffees’ Director of Football.

The 58-year-old is currently out of contract at the end of May when his £2m-a-season deal expires, but Carlo Ancelotti has welcomed the former PSV Eindhoven chief extending his stay on Merseyside.

Brands is noted as having faced criticism from supporters for his early transactions at Goodison Park with former boss Marco Silva, though has enjoyed a positive shift in the past 12-months by clearing out fringe players and making positive signings with Ancelotti.

It had been speculated that Blues majority owner Farhad Moshiri could wait until Brands’ existing deal expired before making a decision on his future, yet the Dutchman – who sits on the Everton board – wants to stay.

Progress appears to have been made since, and a deal for the chief Ancelotti believes has “important” qualities as a recruitment-expert appears to be near to completion.

Should Everton retain Brands?

Brands is often credited with playing an instrumental role in the arrivals of players at Everton since his appointment in 2018, including Niels Nkounkou last summer and for resurrecting Lucas Digne’s career from the FC Barcelona sidelines.

He has also spent the past two-and-a-half years trying to shift the deadwood left behind by his predecessor Steve Walsh, with new homes found for Morgan Schneiderlin, Sandro Ramirez, Nikola Vlasic, Henry Onyekuru and Kevin Mirallas, as well as a handful of loans for Yannick Bolasie to get his £75,000-per-week contract off the books.

But Bolasie’s deal and that belonging to Muhamed Besic will expire at the end of the season and the fringe players Ancelotti has no use or want for will decrease with it, allowing the summer to be arguably Brands’ first window where a majority of his focus can be spent strengthening the squad rather than trying to reduce a bloated wage bill.

He has already worked wonders when one hand was tied between his back in bringing Digne to Merseyside, as well as the arrivals of Andre Gomes and more recently Ben Godfrey, who is seen more as a signing by Brands and his scouting team than Ancelotti who can take credit for James Rodriguez.

And if a partnership of Brands and Ancelotti can return signings like Rodriguez and Godfrey, who knows where it could take Everton with the allure of European football with the Blues in contention to secure a UEFA berth for next term.

A new contract would be a dream deal for Everton’s long-term vision, as the Toffees put the groundwork in place for a bright future in the Bramley-Moore Dock, so Moshiri must get it done sooner rather than later.

AND in other news, Carlo Ancelotti is willing Everton to pay £26.5m for a £176k-p/w gem…