Liverpool law firm Hill Dickinson secured naming rights on Everton FC’s new stadium in May and now it is helping Blues owner The Friedkin Group kick-start a ‘data revolution’ at the club. Tony McDonough reports

Liverpool law firm Hill Dickinson has strengthened its relationship with Everton FC’s owners weeks after securing naming rights on the new stadium.

In May it was announced the new £750m stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock would be known as the Hill Dickinson Stadium in a multi-year agreement believed to be worth tens of millions of pounds.

Now the firm has revealed it has advised on its first deal for Everton owner, The Friedkin Group (TFG). This deal sees TFG acquire Insight Sport, a data and analytics consultancy founded by former director, Chris Howarth.

This agreement follows the club’s announcement on June 20 naming Mr Howarth as one of four senior appointments to Everton’s new football leadership structure.

It will kick-start a pledge made by new Everton chief executive Angus Kinnear in May when he said the club will put data and analytics at the heart of its decision-making in a major shift in strategy.

Under the ownership of FSG, Everton’s local rival Liverpool has been one of the pioneers of a data-led approach to decisions such as transfers and the hiring of managers.

In late April, City AM reported Everton was in talks to acquire a data company to assist first team coach David Moyes with player recruitment. Preliminary recruitment would be outsourced to this company which would also assist TFG’s other club AS Roma.

That has now come to pass with the acquisition of Insight Sport in a deal which cements Hill Dickinson’s relationship with the club and its American owners.

In an interview with evertontv Mr Kinnear said: “I think there’s been a move in recent years to a single director of football model and that can be challenging.

“We’re going to move to a broader, flatter structure, where we have experts in data and analytics, in football operations, in recruitment and talent ID, and then in player trading.

“Some of those people have already come on board and there are going to be some more announcements over the next couple of weeks. I’ve been delighted by the quality of individuals that we’ve been able to attract.

“I think when Everton fans see it, they’re going to be really reassured that we’ve got, I think, a world-class football operations team in place who’ll be there to support David, who we think is a world-class manager.”

Hill Dickinson corporate partner Matt Noon led on the deal, assisted by senior associate Ben Correia de Sousa.

Matt said: “We are delighted to have acted on a deal that promises such immediate benefits for the club at a really exciting time for Everton, their supporters and everybody involved in the imminent move to Hill Dickinson Stadium.”