Stay in control of the latest Blues news with our Everton newsletter Sign up now Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Everton have now finalised the appointment of a new head of academy recruitment.

Chris Perkins has been brought to Goodison from Derby County where he held the same role at the Championship club.

The Blues are understood to have agreed Perkins' transfer late last year but the recruitment chief had to serve a notice period with Derby.

Perkins replaces Martin Waldron who left the club last year after being suspended during a club investigation into an illegal approach for a schoolboy player, which was launched following a Premier League probe.

In November 2018, Everton were banned from signing Academy players for two years and fined £500,000.

Perkins is believed to have started in the role last month, just before the suspension of games because of the coronavirus, and comes to the club having played an integral role with The Rams since 2014.

Derby's youth programme is one of the hottest in country at the moment, with their under-18s winning the Premier League title last season and qualifying for the Uefa Youth League.

The club have also handed senior debuts to four academy players this season under manager Phillip Cocu.

Perkins will report into head of recruitment Gretar Steinsson who, in turn, has director of football Marcel Brands above him.

Brands made a revamping of the club's Academy a priority upon his appointment in the summer of 2018 and Perkins' arrival is a key part of the changes he is looking to make.

Before joining Derby, Perkins worked for Adidas, Reebok and scouting and recruitment company Scout7.