Sweeping change is set to blow through Rangers after a season of stagnation at Ibrox which has pushed supporters to the brink.
Rangers fans have been switching off in their numbers after yet another disastrous campaign which officially ended in bitter disappointment in Bilbao.
But there is some light at the end of the tunnel as 49ers Enterprises prepare to takeover at Rangers and the Ibrox club make moves to reshuffle their executive team.
The latest reports suggest Kevin Thewell will be appointed Rangers Director of Football when his current contract at Premier League Everton expires in the summer.
But with 49ers Enterprises waiting in the wings to take the reins, it appears the man Thelwell replaced at Goodison Park has played a crucial role in the appointment.
- READ MORE: Rangers fans group to retain Ibrox shareholding as key investors sell up to 49ers Enterprises
49ers chief plays key role in Kevin Thelwell Rangers deal
49ers Enterprises are using all the tools at their disposal as they prepare to takeover over at Rangers and reshuffle the club’s executive team.
Before news of Rangers interest in Kevin Thelwell broke, it was being reported that 49ers Technical Director Gretar Steinsson is playing a key role in Rangers’ hunt for both a new director of football and a new manager.
Remarkably, Steinsson could be about to appoint the man who effectively replaced him at Everton in 2022.
Thelwell arrived as director of football at Goodison Park in February 2022, with Steinsson having left a Head of Recruitment and Development role at Everton three months previously.
Steinsson then took up an advisory role with the Icelandic FA before joining Tottenham Hotspur as Performance Director.
The former Iceland international would then move to Leeds United as Technical Director before taking up his current role with the 49ers in November 2024.
Kevin Thelwell’s Everton record bodes well for Rangers
Over the last three seasons Kevin Thelwell has had quite the job on his hands to keep cash-strapped Everton’s heads above water.
The former Wolves director of football moved to the Toffees in February 2022 after a stint in the MLS with New York Red Bulls.
In that space of time, the statistics lay bare Thelwell’s success at Everton where he’s achieved a remarkable net positive transfer spend, slashed the wage bill and kept the Toffees in the Premier League.
It’s an impressive set of statistics, with Thelwell banging his own drum when he announced that he’d be leaving Everton at the end of the season.
”From a football perspective we have had to be creative through player trading,” Thelwell said in March.
”Whilst we have received £225m in player sales over the last three years, our circumstances have only allowed us to spend £145m across six transfer windows.
”Whilst we haven’t got every move right, to build a team capable of competing at Premier League level against that landscape, having to be pragmatic in moving on some of our best players and future talent in the process, is an incredible achievement.”
