Everton have launched a search for an u21 assistant manager to support Paul Tait after a coaching reshuffle at the club.
Under 18s manager Leighton Baines has been promoted to the first team coaching setup, meaning Keith Southern has been promoted to under 18s manager. With the club now one coach down in the youth system it is now seeking a new appointment to support the academy structure.
The club says it is seeking a UEFA A Licenced coach to ‘provide coaching support and leadership to the u21 squad’. It says the role includes “succession planning of young home-grown talent via the academy system through individual player development, the technical programme and the games programme.”
The assistant head coach role will be tasked with coaching the u21 squad with a particular focus on what the club calls the ‘elite players within the group’ and will be asked to devise technical and training sessions for the group.
The job description adds: “We are looking for someone who has an outstanding track record, has is in or has been in a similar role and is able to show a clear understanding of how to coach and develop youth and professional football players within an established Academy environment.”
However the club says the role will be a fixed term contract until the end of the season. The move matches that of the appointment of Charlie Adam as set piece coach until the summer and hints at a larger overhaul of the first team and u21 coaching staff at the end of the 2024/25 season.
Everton’s academy recruitment has accelerated this season. The club is also seeking a specialist academy goalkeeping coach and an academy performance analyst as Kevin Thelwell’s academy overhaul continues.
It follows a drastic overhaul of the Everton scouting team which includes scouts seeking players as young as five for the academy and new dedicated scouts in South America, Scandinavia and across key European markets in France, Spain, Portugal and Italy.
The club is also recruiting for a scout officer assistant who will be asked to assist scout officers in identifying and assessing talented football players through match analysis, scouting reports, and player evaluations.