Everton will be forced to operate on a tight budget in the January transfer window despite their new owners, the Friedkin Group, promising to 'transform' the club.
Toffees boss Sean Dyche could do with some new additions as he battles to stave off the threat of relegation. The Merseyside outfit are 16th in the Premier League table and only three points clear of the relegation zone.
While the Friedkin Group's arrival is set to kickstart a new financial era at Goodison Park, Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) will limit the impact they are able to make this winter.
According to The i, expensive signings are 'unlikely' in January, when Everton will be forced to 'box clever' in the market. It has reportedly been acknowledged by senior figures at the club that spending their way out of trouble is 'impossible'.
The floodgates may have opened if the Friedkin Group were able to show off their spending power in the absence of PSR pressure. They have already flexed their muscles by forking out a whopping £200million since agreeing a deal to purchase the club from Farhad Moshiri in September.
That money is believed to have gone towards paying off debts, meeting the payment obligations of their new stadium and covering the day-to-day costs of running the club.
The takeover is nearing the end of a three-month regulatory process and a positive conclusion is expected at the end of this week. The Friedkin Group will arrive on Merseyside at a crucial time in the club's history.
Not only are they battling relegation, a critical contract situation is in urgent need of addressing. A number of senior players are about to enter the final six months of their deals, leaving them free to negotiate pre-contract agreements with overseas clubs from January 1.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Michael Keane, Idrissa Gueye, Ashley Young and Seamus Coleman are among the players who could leave for nothing at the end of the campaign. Meanwhile Orel Mangala, Jesper Lindstrom, Jack Harrison and Armando Broja may all be sent back to their parent clubs once their loan deals have expired.
Although the Friedkin Group will not be given the freedom to splash out in January, that is expected to change next summer. And fans will hope that Everton's financial restructuring can bring an end to a period in which the club have struggled to get by.