PSV Eindhoven's Marcel Brands is expected to join Everton in the near future

But current director of football Steve Walsh could yet be handed late reprieve

Everton CEO Robert Elstone will definitely leave Goodison Park for Super League

Everton are exploring options that would potentially see Marcel Brands and Steve Walsh working together as partnership in the future.

It is widely expected that Brands, the current PSV Eindhoven Sporting Director, will be appointed to a similar role at Goodison Park in the near future, with reports in Holland suggesting that it could happen as soon as PSV are confirmed as the new Eredivise champions.

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Walsh, Everton's current Director of Football who was brought to the club in 2016, has been under heavy pressure for much of the season, having overseen a disastrous - and expensive - recruitment drive last summer. The lack of return from those investments seemed certain to cost him his job.

PSV sporting director Marcel Brands is closing in on a move to Everton

Brands could be asked to work with current director of football Steve Walsh (pictured)

Dutchman Brands is now widely expected to arrive at Goodison Park in the near future

Everton CEO Robert Elstone will definitely leave the club for a new job with Super League

However, there are now indications that Walsh may yet earn an unexpected reprieve. There have been indications from Farhad Moshiri, Everton's major shareholder, that he sees Walsh and Brands working in tandem, rather than the Dutchman coming in as a direct replacement.

Everton insist that no deal is in place to bring Brands - who was linked with Chelsea last December shortly after Michael Emenalo was sacked - to Merseyside. The club maintains that the sole focus at present is a face-saving end to a campaign that has horribly underwhelmed.

Yet there is an inevitability that the summer will herald a raft of changes. Speculation continues to swarm around Sam Allardyce, who has struggled to build a rapport with supporters, and Shakhtar Donetsk manager Paulo Fonseca has long been mooted as a possible replacement.

Allardyce maintains that he has 'no insecurities' about his future and has started preparing for next season, with targets such as Arsenal's Jack Wilshere being discussed as potential new arrivals. A sequence of poor results, though, would place him under huge pressure.

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One man who will definitely leave at the end of the campaign is Chief Executive Robert Elstone. Having been at Goodison Park for 13 years, Elstone will return to rugby league take over as head of the Super League.

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