Ranking Kevin Thelwell’s best Everton signings as Sporting Director officially joins Rangers

Kevin Thelwell is leaving Everton after three years in the job and Scottish giants Rangers have moved quickly to appoint him.

Everton announced on Wednesday that Kevin Thelwell will leave his position as sporting director once his contract expires in the summer.

During his short reign overseeing recruitment on Merseyside, Kevin Thelwell signed a whopping 21 players for the first team.

Some have been resounding hits, whilst others haven’t made the grade and can be considered expensive flops.

So, with that said, let’s take a look at his top three best Everton signings over the last three years.

Kevin Thelwell’s best Everton signings

3 – Idrissa Gueye (from PSG)

Everton re-signed midfielder Idrissa Gana Gueye from PSG during the summer of 2022.

The 35-year-old has been an incredibly consistent performer under Frank Lampard, Sean Dyche and now David Moyes, so the £2m transfer fee looks an absolute bargain now.

In the modern age of football, signings like Gueye are often sniffed out due to his age, but Thelwell and then manager Lampard certainly struck gold in their decision to bring him back to Goodison Park.

Moyes is now desperate to tie Gueye down to a new deal.

2 – Amadou Onana (from Lille)

Thelwell has had great success shopping in the French market as evinced by the signing of Amadou Onana from Lille.

Onana turned down West Ham United, who finished seventh the season prior, to join the Toffees, who had just come off the back of a relegation dog fight.

So clearly Thelwell and his recruitment team sold the Belgium international a convincing pitch and after two productive years on Merseyside, they made a substantial profit on his sale to Aston Villa in 2024.

In fact, the £50m sale of Onana is the second most expensive departure in the club’s history, so it was certainly good business.