Journalist Paul Brown has called for Director of Football Marcel Brands to be given more control at Everton

Brown believes Brands is the only well-respected footballing man at the Premier League club outside of manager Rafa Benitez, and should be allowed greater power. 

What's the latest news involving Everton?

Everton have enjoyed a strong start to the season, which continued on Sunday with a 1-1 draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford. 

The Toffees are currently fifth with 14 points from seven games and have only lost once in the Premier League so far this season. 

Nonetheless, it's clear not everything is perfect at Goodison Park. Everton spent just £1.8m in the summer transfer window with that entire outlay going on Demarai Gray, who joined the club alongside four free agents. 

BBC Sport's chief football writer Phil McNulty recently criticised Brands' role in that modest spend, describing his transfer policy as 'flawed' and 'ridiculously expensive'. 

However, Brown is a fierce advocate of Brands and argued he should in fact be given much greater control of the Merseyside outfit. 

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What has Paul Brown said about Marcel Brands?

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Brown claimed Brands should be 'more involved' in the running of the club, and that Everton's owner Farhad Moshiri has made too many decisions either without discussing them with his Director of Football or by directly overruling him. 

He told GMS: "I would like to see Marcel Brands more involved. I think one big problems at Everton is that the owner still makes too many decisions either without consulting Marcel Brands or having consulted him, overruling his decisions.

"I think the one really well respected football person at the club, if you disregard the manager, working behind the scenes in the boardroom on recruitment at the club is Marcel Brands. I think he needs to be given control, I think he should be given the keys."

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What is Marcel Brands' role?

Brands' position at Everton is Director of Football, which ultimately means he plays a guiding role in player recruitment and player sales. 

Directors of Football will generally have a longer-term view on potential signings than managers, safeguarding clubs against the hire-and-fire nature of modern football as new coaching appointments strive for instant success. 

Brands was also appointed to Everton's board in 2019, giving him more say in wider matters at the club and increasing his overall power behind the scenes. 

Nonetheless, Brown believes he should be given even greater control going forward with owner Moshiri taking a step back.