Representatives of The Friedkin Group including Marc Watts, whose focus will now be on Everton, are set to visit Finch Farm on Friday
Sean Dyche during the Everton training session at Finch Farm on November 26, 2024 in Halewood, England
Everton’s new executive chairman Marc Watts is due to meet Sean Dyche on Friday. Watts, who is set to be the Friedkin Group’s figurehead on Merseyside, will attend the club’s Finch Farm training ground as the US firm’s ownership stretches into a second day.
He will be part of a consort of TFG representatives who will meet staff and players amid preparations for Sunday’s home game with Chelsea. TFG chiefs are due to be present at Goodison Park for that match, the first of their reign.
The Finch Farm meeting will be a significant moment and comes with the structure at the Halewood training complex under heavy scrutiny. Director of football Kevin Thelwell, manager Dyche and 13 of the 25 senior men’s players are currently due to leave the club next summer unless new contracts are signed.
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Working out who will oversee and lead the huge transition set to take place, and who will be allowed to leave, will be among TFG’s top priorities in the coming months.
Upon confirmation of their takeover on Thursday, the group stressed the importance of bringing stability to a club that has lurched between crises over recent years.
The ECHO understands there is an awareness of the immediate challenges - and constraints - on the club’s efforts to make progress, including the Blues’ precarious league position and proximity to the limits of Premier League Profit and Sustainability Regulations.
Working with Thelwell and Dyche, in the short term at least, is therefore likely to represent stability that will be prized by the group as they seek to settle into life at Everton.
At the forefront of that work will be the vastly-experienced Watts, a trusted Friedkin chief who will lead their work at Everton and report to new chair, Dan Friedkin. Watts has been on the board at one of TFG’s other football clubs, Italian giants Roma, since the takeover there in 2020 but was not involved in the running of the club.
The ECHO understands that Everton will be major focus of his work as he now attempts to drive through TFG’s vision for a sustainable, successful future at the club.