Everton have agreed terms with Portsmouth’s Head of Recruitment Phil Boardman, according to sources at Football Insider.
Formerly Head of Performance Analysis at Wolverhampton Wanderers, Boardman joined the South Coast club at the start of the 2017/18 season reuniting with former Wolves boss Kenny Jackett.
With qualifications in Geography and Sport Science alongside a Masters’ Degree in Performance Analysis, Boardman’s career began as an academy analyst with Wolves until he stepped up to work with the first team after two years.
Following eight years with the Black Country club, he became Head of Recruitment at Portsmouth. His tenure has seen the club achieve consistent top-half finishes since promotion from League Two, finishing in the play-offs twice.
After failing to mount a serious challenge for promotion in recent years, Pompey have started the season in excellent fashion, topping the division as the only side left undefeated in the third tier, with recent summer recruits Regan Poole, Jack Sparkes, Will Norris and Paddy Lane proving to be astute additions to the club.
Having worked with current Everton Head of Recruitment Kevin Thelwell from his time at Wolves, the Toffees are reportedly keen to bring in Boardman before the upcoming January window.
Everton’s recruitment team has undergone a remodel under Thelwell after years of poor transfers which now sees the Merseyside club face FFP and relegation worries. Therefore, the club will want to move forward with a clear recruitment plan if they are to avoid both of these troubles going forward.
What has been said?
Sources at Football Insider have stated:
“Everton have agreed a deal to hire Portsmouth recruitment chief Phil Boardman.
“The Merseysiders are beefing up their scouting team and have settled terms with the experienced talent spotter,” the report continued.
“Boardman has agreed a deal to be a senior European scout for the Premier League club”
Writer’s View
With Portsmouth’s excellent summer transfers and start to the season, it’s no surprise to see eyes being turned to their recruitment team. Pompey have put together a side with a great wealth of youth, experience and potential future sell-on value.
To scathe away any potential FFP risk, Everton’s recruitment will need to take sell-on value into consideration, hence, this could prove to be an excellent acquisition for the Toffees whilst posing a huge loss for Portsmouth.
