777 Partners Global Sporting Director Johannes Spors has moved to clarify that other clubs in their network won’t be feeders for Everton, despite him recently indicating that would be the case.
That’s according to BILD, who cover comments from him today and Hertha Berlin sporting director Benjamin Weber, who has made it clear he will not be operating in that manner.
777 Partners agreed a deal to buy Everton from Farhad Moshiri earlier this year but are still awaiting approval from the Premier League for the takeover to happen.
Should it be approved then Everton would become part of a network of clubs owned by the American group, including the likes of Genoa, Standard Liege, Red Star, CR Vasco de Gama and Hertha BSC.
The Premier League side would undoubtedly be the jewel in that crown and Spors indicated as much this week in comments to the English press stating that “Everton will be the missing piece of the puzzle in the group and can be the club that gets the players when Liège or Berlin have finished forming them.”
That didn’t go down well at any of the other clubs, particularly Hertha Berlin, where the fans are already against the ownership.
They don’t want to see their team become a ‘farm team’ for Everton, but Spors has now moved to clarify his position in an interview with Kicker.
“We don’t force transfers, the clubs do very independent squad planning,” he is quoted as saying.
“But if the need meets the possibility of a transfer, we try to implement it, although it is always about the players’ individual career paths.”
Whether that’s his response to something of an outcry following his initial claims or something else isn’t clear but it seems the idea was going to receive fierce opposition from Hertha’s sporting director Benjamin Weber, who made that clear to BILD.
“Hertha BSC is neither a farm team nor do we have to worry about our talents,” he said.
“The dialogue with 777 Partners and its clubs is good, constructive and intentional. Meaningful synergies are created.
“The coordination and exchange in the areas of analysis, performance and player development as well as data evaluation help us a lot and take place on a trusting and cooperative level.”
According to BILD, in ‘plain language’ that means a transfer would only happen if the player wants it or he could ‘improve athletically’ before he ends up elsewhere and there won’t be the easy flow of players to Everton that Spors seemed to suggest there would be this week.
