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Those who know Marcel Brands say he's reluctant to talk about Everton too much at the moment.

Yet there is a growing belief in European football circles that discussions between both parties are edging towards a positive conclusion.

It was first plastered over the front of De Telegraaf's sports section in January, and then subsequently confirmed by the ECHO, that Everton are interested in PSV Eindhoven's sporting director.

Steve Walsh's position at Goodison has been under review for some time and now the figure of Dutchman Brands looms large after a failed transfer splurge which has cost the club well over £200m.

Just two years into his contract, and thought to have the same amount of time remaining, Everton's director of football would have to be paid off if the club decided to wield the axe.

Brands, who is tied to PSV until 2020 after penning a new deal in 2016, would also have to come at a cost, both to prise him from Holland and the salary he would demand in order to revamp Everton's failing recruitment system.

Walsh, it is believed, pockets around £1.5m a year.

If change is to come then how quickly it does remains unclear but with the transfer window opening just four days after the final day of the season on May 17, Everton cannot afford to waste any time.

(Image: EMKO DE WAAL/AFP/Getty Images)

And football insiders believe that Brands would have an input into any choice of manager should the Blues decide to part company with Sam Allardyce at the end of the campaign.

But it would be in the transfer market where Brands would truly earn his corn with the sporting director's contacts and links described as the “best in Europe” while he would also open up more of the South American market – an area where Walsh has wanted to grow the club's profile.

Should Brands come to Everton then it is expected his arrival would signal a shift in transfer policy with a greater move to buying younger talent with sell-on potential.

Walsh, and the Blues, can point to the £30m signing of Jordan Pickford as a player who has not only been a success at Everton but, at 24, retains significant resale value yet those who have worked with Brands believe his track record says he will secure many more of these deals.

Previously linked with jobs at Arsenal and Chelsea, Brands has never hidden from the fact he is interested in working outside of Holland.

On signing his new contract at PSV, he was quoted as saying: "I've gone for my feeling.

"I have a great time here, I see PSV as the most beautiful club in the Netherlands. So if I wanted something else, it would be abroad."

That “something else” could well be Everton.