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Marcel Brands has confirmed that Everton will try to off-load up to 12 players this summer.

And the new Goodison Director of Football has confirmed they must sell before they buy and the task of cutting out the dead wood at will at times been a painful and long term process.

Brands revealed his blueprint for Everton when he was unveiled alongside new boss Marco Silva this week, and he told fans not to expect yet more reckless spending, or an instant fix for the club's many problems.

The club has a 38-man squad that needs to be reduced to a more manageable 25-30 players.

(Image: PA)

Wayne Rooney tops the list of stars who Everton are ready to dispense with. Yannick Bolasie, Joel Robles, Davy Klaassen, Morgan Schneiderlin, Ashley Williams, Ramiro Funes Mori and Oumar Niasse are fellow first-team names under threat.

Kevin Mirallas, Ademola Lookman and Sandro Ramirez - who were all shipped out on loan - are on the chopping block.

Luke Garbutt, David Henen, Shani Tarashaj, Tyias Broning and Matthew Pennington face uncertain futures too.

Asked if owner Farhad Moshiri will pump more of his own money into transfers, after spending upwards of £150m on a disjointed, confused spending policy last summer, he said: “No. (he won't).

"I think first of all, we need also to offload players, to raise money (to spend), and also salary wise.”

(Image: REUTERS)

(Image: 2017 Getty Images)

(Image: Everton FC)

Asked if that meant Everton need to sell to buy, he added: “Yes, but it's not only a money thing. Of course money is also important, but it is also for a coach it is not workable to start with 38 players in your squad.

“I think we have to look for a squad Marco can work with and I think there always has to be space for young players to come to the first team.”

The news will come as a shock to Everton fans who have long assumed that Moshiri will continue to pump millions into the club, after underwriting more than £100m of transfer spending since he bought a controlling interest in the club.

(Image: Reuters)

But Brands revealed he will attempt to be ruthless in reducing the Blues' top heavy 38-man squad, but trying to offload at least a dozen players...to make room for new signings and also young players to emerge.

To give youngsters room to develop, he said, the must make up: “let's say players 25-30. But now there are 38 players and a lot of them are not young players any more. They are arrived players.

“We have to be honest when we take the decision with these players, do they have prospects here at Everton? Because yeah, some of the conversations will not be nice, but it has to be honest.”

(Image: Getty)

Everton hit-list: The players who could leave Joel Robles - out of contract Wayne Rooney - MLS interest, one year left on contract Ashley Williams - one year left on contract Ramiro Funes Mori - interest from Argentina Luke Garbutt Championship interest Yannick Bolasie - Premier League interest Ademola Lookman - wanted by Red Bull Leipzig Oumar Niasse - two years left on contract Shan Tarashaj - two years left on contract David Henen - out of contract Sandro Ramirez - interest from Spain Morgan Schneiderlin - unsettled Davy Klaassen - interest from Holland Kevin Mirallas - interest in Belgium Brendan Galloway - Championship interest Tyias Browning - one year left on contract Matthew Pennington - Championship interest

Brands' common sense, calm, pragmatic approach will at least cheer them. He said: “I will look beyond only a season and try and build a structure for more than one year.

"You have seen in the past that if short term relations with managers (make it) very difficult to achieve success.

“So I will try and build a structure for a long term relationship. It will go step by step and it will not go every time as everyone wants, but finally we will achieve the goals that we want.”

The Director of Football even cheerfully admitted that he won't be able to dump 12 players this summer... because their Premier League wages make that sort of clear out impossible these days.

“I know it's hard (to get rid of them), because of the salaries in England – it's so difficult if the player is not successful, then what do you do?

“Because in most countries they can not make the wages they get here in the Premier League. So a lot of players who don't play (at Everton) can not play anywhere, because the salaries are not comparable.

(Image: Liverpool Echo)

“So that means even if you have money you have to be careful to spend that money. I always say when you buy 10 players eight or nine have to do well. You have to be careful, even if you have money.

“Hopefully I will succeed to offload the right players. And of course they are good players so I hope there will be interest for a few of our players.”