Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium.
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Everton were put up for full sale by The Friedkin Group last week, and now it’s been reported that Head of Player Trading Nick Hammond is set to stick around.
Last night, news was shared that Hammond is being retained by Everton. He has reportedly committed to a new contract that will see him stay at the club until at least the end of next summer.
The immediate reaction on social media was fairly mixed, with many questioning why the club would want him to stay after overseeing the chaos at the end of the transfer window.
Everton rather had a deadline day to forget with Folarin Balogun walking away from a move at the last moment. Four sales were also sanctioned.
But there is an argument on the other side of the coin here to say that Hammond sticking around actually isn’t a bad thing.
🚨 Some interesting leadership-related news at Everton, with Nick Hammond reportedly committing to a new deal. Thoughts? He is the club's Head of Player Trading… 👀
This is why I think Everton are in a really weird spot. Between the Burnley and City cases you’re buying a club that has too much going on at the minute. Could be -40m in compensation or +200m depending on how those go
That’s interesting… wouldn’t have expected that but then again it’s no different to retaining a key player who will look good when selling
Why Nick Hammond development isn’t as bad as it seems
There is no doubt about it, everyone involved in player recruitment at Everton in the summer deserved some criticism for what ended up happening. The squad being as small as it is now is far from ideal, and in a sense David Moyes has been failed by his superiors.
As Head of Player Trading, Hammond would have played a big role in the summer activities, and the frustration for some over last night’s news is understandable.
But keeping Hammond on could actually be sensible.
Firstly, it looks as though the deal Hammond has signed, or will sign, will only be a relatively short-term one, taking him through until next summer at least.
As we know, there is a chance that there will be a takeover soon with The Friedkin Group exploring a sale of Everton, so realistically getting someone else in on a longer contract would perhaps be more trouble than it’s worth. There is more risk with that.
Things could be able to change at the very top and that may bring about some instability, so there is probably value in keeping someone like Hammond in his position for a little while longer to navigate the uncertainty.
And yes, some poor things happened on his watch. But there were also some positives.
The negotiation on the deals for Tyrique George and Hayden Hackney, so that Everton paid a lower fee up front, was quite good. The £7 million fee for Christian Norgaard was relatively cheap. The sale of Tim Iroegbunam was impressive.
Players in Players out
Tyrique George – £16m + £8m Idrissa Gueye – free
Merlin Rohl – £18m Seamus Coleman – free
Brennan Johnson – swap Dwight McNeil – swap
Christian Norgaard – £7m Adam Aznou – loan
Hayden Hackney – £16.5m + £7.5m Nathan Patterson – £850,000
Jack Grealish – loan Iliman Ndiaye – £65m
Ainsley Maitland-Niles Tim Iroegbunam – £13m + £9m
Beto – £15m
Everton’s player trading in summer 2026 window
And previously some promising players were brought in. Tyler Dibling is now starting to show signs that he could be a great player for Everton. Merlin Rohl also looks quite handy.
There is also the notion of Hammond and others at Everton trying to rectify the situation going into the next window. They are all aware of the reaction from fans and they will want nothing more than to fix things at the next opportunity.
The Friedkin Group putting Everton up for sale really does complicate things and potentially point to uncertainty on the horizon. It’s why there could also be a chance now that Moyes prolongs his stay at the club, despite suggestions to the contrary.