Dan Freidkin. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)Dan Freidkin. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Dan Freidkin. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Friedkin Group are closing in on an Everton takeover.
It appears to be a matter of which day in December the official announcement will be made.
The Friedkin Group’s (TFG) Everton takeover is expected to be completed before the year is out - with the suggestion that it will be rubberstamped next week. The American firm are poised to become the Blues’ new custodians as they edge closer to purchasing majority owner Farhad Moshiri’s 94.1 per cent stake.
TFG will know the difficult challenge they face when they indeed are given the keys. Everton’s issues of recent years have been well-documented both on and off the pitch. Losses of almost £400 million in the past four years have had an impact on the playing side, with the Blues hit with an eight-point deduction last season for two breaches of Premier League profit and sustainability rules.
TFG will inherit an Everton side that are 15th in the table and five points above the relegation zone. While there is a decent cushion between Sean Dyche’s side and the bottom three, a run of fixtures against Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City means that their position could become more precarious come Boxing Day.
According toSky Sports, TFG’s ‘message will be one of them looking to strike a balance between a long-term vision and an exciting new plan, and keeping the absolute focus on the remaining months of the current season, one in which much work is still to be done’.
It is also suggested that a change of manager is unlikely. Dyche has come under pressure from sections of Evertonians, while his contract expires at the end of the season. The ex-Burnley boss has kept the Toffees in the top flight in the past two campaigns. It is mooted that TFG’s top brass will ‘assess the situation fully before making any major decisions’.
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