Carlo Ancelotti has revealed that he made a promise to Everton’s majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri that he would turn the club into a team that compete at the top of the Premier League.
Moshiri has invested £400 million ($540m) into the club so far, as per the latest set of published accounts, and is showing no signs of curbing the spending any time soon despite the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Indeed, despite suffering a record loss of £140m ($190m) in the year ending June 2020, the British-Iranian businessman sanctioned a £70m ($95m) spend in the summer transfer window. As such, Ancelotti is keen to repay the faith shown in him by ensuring the Toffees start challenging for major honours.
“My reaction [to the accounts] is that I understand the owner is really attached to the club and really focused on improving this club,” the Italian head coach told reporters. “This is really important for the club and for all the supporters.
“The pressure I have is that he has a lot confidence in me. He has trust in me because he signed me and he brought me to Everton. I’m doing it to bring his club to the top. That is my goal and what I promised to him.”
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The Toffees began the season in fantastic form, recording seven straight wins across all competitions, but a 2-2 draw with Liverpool in the Merseyside derby saw that come to an end and results since have been inconsistent.
An important win against Chelsea last time out restored some confidence for the club, who are still without the talents of James Rodriguez through injury, but Ancelotti admits that there is some way to go before Everton can get themselves in contention for the Premier League title.
“We have competed well against Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea this season which means we are not so far from the top but we are not there yet,” he said. “We have to keep working.”
Another positive for the club has been the emergence of 16-year-old left-back Thierry Small, who has been drafted in following an injury to Lucas Digne, with Ancelotti of the opinion that the youngster already has what it takes to be part of the senior group.
“Thierry did well,” Ancelotti said of the teenager. “He is really, really young. He is like a kid, he is only 16 years old, but he has quality and physicality to play with the first team. He is one of our best players in the academy, so I was pleased to bring him to train with us.”
