Roberto Martínez's grand designs for
Everton include spending a £20m-plus transfer kitty this summer and a revamp of the club's training complex. The Everton manager wants to increase the number of hours players spend in training by building overnight accommodation at Finch Farm.
It is plans for the Finch Farm training ground that illustrate the manager's meticulous attention to detail and influence throughout the club. Everton moved into the impressive Liverpool City council-owned complex only in 2007 but Martínez believes player-development will improve significantly with new facilities.
"We've got money to spend this summer," the Everton manager said. "Remember we sold £40m worth of players and we only spent £13m [initially]. That money is there to be spent.
The new TV money won't make a massive difference on the playing side because we've got a lot of things we want to do on the training ground. We want to build accommodation here, have bedrooms on site, put a new pitch in and give the training ground a big lift. I'm going to use the money for that."
Spending on infrastructure is exempt from Uefa's financial fair play calculations but Martínez insists Finch Farm, with 10 full-size grass pitches, one full-size synthetic pitch, an indoor pitch and three smaller pitches, does not meet his requirements for the club. "Every year you need to improve," he added.
"We need bedrooms for the first team and the option to get digs for the young players to stay on site as well. We are two pitches short and we need to have a full-size indoor facility for all the age groups. The facilities here are terrific but the demands every season change and you need to be up to date.
"We have different projects and the cost depends on how much we are going to go into it. They are different projects – one is the bedrooms, one is the new pitches, one is for the youth to have digs. There are different projects that we can do over the next 24 months."