How West Ham have outdone Everton in the transfer market since directors of football arrived

Everton and West Ham both appointed new directors of football in the summer of 2018, with the singular aim of breaking away from from the Premier League's mid-table pack.

Marcel Brands arrived along with manager Marco Silva at Goodison Park, while the Hammers hired Mario Husillos to look after the club's transfer business alongside the appointment of Manuel Pellegrini.

7

It represented a seismic change of direction for both clubs, and they've thrown all their weight behind it in the transfer market. Since the arrival of Brands and Husillos, Everton have spent nearly £200million, while West Ham have splashed more than £155million on players.

But ahead of their meeting on Saturday, which you can hear live as part of talkSPORT's GameDay coverage, only one club has reaped the rewards.

Everton may have finished two points above West Ham last season, but the Toffees are currently in the relegation zone following a dreadful start to the campaign, while the Hammers are banging on the door of the top six.

Silva must surely win on Saturday or risk facing the sack, but his predecessor, Sam Allardyce, suggests the blame ought to be shared by director of football Brands.

7

Allardyce guided the Toffees to eighth during the 2017/18 season, the same position they finished the following campaign despite significantly greater investment.

“You’ve got to look at the new director of football,” Allardyce told talkSPORT. “Is Marco Silva struggling because he hasn’t recruited all these players and it’s the new director of football?

“It’s a difficult position as a manager. He [Brands] has been brought in with a big reputation as director of football.

“But, at the end of the day, you spend all this money and if you don’t spend it the right way, it makes the manager’s job harder.

“I wonder how many of these players Marco Silva actually sanctioned and said he wanted.”

Who is Marcel Brands?

Unlike many directors of football, such as Edwin van der Sar at Ajax and Edu at Arsenal, Brands never really made a name for himself as a player.

His 17-year playing career was spent entirely in the Netherlands, with the highlight probably being two seasons in the top division with Feyenoord between 1988 and 1989.

He is a bit of legend at RKC Waalwijk, though, for whom he made more than 350 appearances over three separate spells.

The Dutchman rose to prominence after he retired from playing, becoming one of the most reputable directors in European football.

7

He took on a technical role at RKC Waalwijk before joining AZ Alkmaar in 2005, along with former Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal, and in 2009, AZ won only their second ever Eredivisie title.

Brands' exploits earned him a move to PSV in 2010, where he looked after the club's transfer strategy and youth development.

During his eight years with the Dutch club, they claimed three Eredivisie titles, three Johan Cruyff Shields and one KNVB Cup.

However, since replacing Steve Walsh as Everton's director of football in 2018, things haven't gone quite so smoothly.

Who is Mario Husillos?

The Argentine showed plenty of promise as a teenager for Boca Juniors and even played for Real Madrid Castilla when he was 19.

However, Husillos ended up becoming a journeyman striker in Spain, playing for various different clubs and usually moving on quite quickly.

After several managerial roles, he joined Malaga as a sporting director in 2012, with current West Ham manager Pellegrini in charge.

In 2018, Husillos came in for criticism for his transfer selections in a season that ended in relegation to the Segunda Division.

Nonetheless, West Ham opted to reunite him and Pellegrini at the London Stadium that summer.

Who did it better?

Despite arriving with a smaller reputation and a smaller budget, West Ham's Husillos has outdone Everton's Brands since they both arrived in the Premier League.

Not only have they spent less, the Hammers have seen a clear and obvious improvement on the pitch, largely thanks to the new arrivals.

The likes of Felipe Anderson, Issa Diop and Lukasz Fabiankski helped guide West Ham to a top ten finish last season, collecting ten more points and climbing three places compared to the previous campaign.

Meanwhile, Sebastien Haller and Andrii Yarmolenko have been central to the positive start made by the Hammers this season.

7

7

Take a look at Everton and you'll see no notable improvement from before Brands arrived, despite the nearly £200m spent on players.

The Toffees finished eighth before they sacked Allardyce in the summer of 2018 and ended up in the same position last season.

Andre Gomes and Lucas Digne have probably justified their price tags, while the inconsistent Richarlison can be effective on his day, but the way things are going this year, it's hard to see them breaking into the top six any time soon.

7

7

Ironically, the last game before Allardyce was sacked by Everton and West Ham replaced David Moyes was a meeting between the two sides in question, which West Ham won 3-1.

And Saturday's clash will prove an interesting measure of how far both teams have come since that day.