How good is Football Manager 2009's player database? Professional quality, apparently - at least that is the opinion of Everton Football Club, who plan to use it to scout for talented players.

The English team - currently at 7th place in the Barclays Premier League - have signed an exclusive deal with Sports Interactive that will give manager David Moyes full access to the database of performance statistics used in the game. Moyes will be able to use the games dataset of players within 20,000 active FIFA teams across 50 countries to look for untapped talent in time for January's transfer window.

"The game’s database is a valuable resource with the most extensive scouting network in football so Everton FC is making a top signing," said game designer Paul Colyer, "I am personally delighted with today’s announcement as I’m a Toffees fan."

Everton Use Football Manager 2009 [Inc Gamers]