Everton's Moshiri backs Koeman on transfers: 'No restrictions to spend'
Everton majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri has vowed to back "ruthless" manager Ronald Koeman in the January transfer window.
For Toffees supporters, Moshiri's words will be a source of inspiration after the Iranian billionaire, who owns a 49.9 percent stake in the Merseysiders, pledged to support the Dutch gaffer's ambitions to take Everton to the next level.
"We have no restrictions to spend," Moshiri told TalkSport, courtesy of the Guardian. "The manager is totally committed and ruthless; if a player is not up to it he uses another player and eventually he buys one.
"There are no sentimental issues there. The manager will strengthen the team in the areas he feels necessary. Koeman is Koeman: he does what he wants and I support him."
After a drab 11th-place finish that saw the Toffees finish 34 points adrift of table-topper Leicester City, Everton appears to be a club on the right track under Koeman.
In addition to backing Koeman's plans, Moshiri admits his role with the club is a simple one, saying, "I think the job of an owner and chairman is simply to hire and fire the manager, the rest is down to him. Once we hire a manager we back him.
"He has the personality, aura and ability and we trust him. In Everton's culture the manger is the most important individual. He achieved eighth and seventh with Southampton. He needs to improve on that but it is a very difficult landscape now."
With the £47.5 million made on the John Stones sale, Koeman aggressively pursued several players in the summer window, and Moshiri is rather candid in addressing those transfers.
"I think the manager had seven names, four of those we got," Moshiri admitted. "We tried to buy (Kalidou) Koulibaly of Napoli and they wanted £60m. It is monopoly money. We went right to the asking price and they decided not to sell."
The additions of Yannick Bolasie, Ashley Williams, and Idrissa Gueye have addressed three of the squad's most pressing shortcomings, though Moshiri admits Koeman wanted more.
"He (Koeman) wanted a box-to-box midfielder and we matched (Moussa) Sissoko's asking price and actually paid more and all the terms were agreed and just before midnight we realised he had changed his mind. Lucas Perez (Deportivo La Coruna's forward) was all ready to sign and Arsenal took him from us at the last minute."
Even with ambitious transfer plans, Moshiri concedes that in order to compete with the Premier League's best is with a marquee manager and a new stadium.
"For our club to compete in the north-west of England, which is the new Hollywood of football with Guardiola, Mourinho, Klopp, we needed a star to stand on the touchline so I got Koeman."
With one of those two needs sorted, Moshiri targets financial stability as a vital step toward a new ground, saying, "We needed a strong balance sheet so I paid off the debts. We are now very flexible financially. We need a big stadium, no question about it.
"We have done the hard bit because the club was restricted to move or expand Goodison by banking covenants but I have paid the debts so we are free to do what we want and we have the finances to do it."