Everton chairman Bill Kenwright will be replaced by Peter Kenyon if 3-week takeover succeeds
Everton chairman Bill Kenwright will be replaced if the proposed takeover succeeds, with buyers wanting a deal done in three weeks, The Independent reports.
The 76-year-old has been chairman since 2004 but has come under increased scrutiny amid the sale of Richarlison to satisfy profit and sustainability requirements.
Kenwright met with Tottenham chief Daniel Levy at dinner on Monday night before the £60million deal was tied up this week, with £50million up front, which will leave a profit of around £35million for accounting purposes.
This played out amid talks between a consortium led by former Chelsea and Manchester United chief executive Peter Kenyon and Toffees owner Farhad Moshiri about buying the club.
£1billion has been mooted as the cost of a deal, divided roughly in half between purchasing the club and financing the Bramley-Moore Dock stadium development, but the group are believed to have the funds not to carry out a leveraged buy-out.
They reportedly want an agreement sorted by 21 July when the club a preseason friendly in Minnesota, in the home city of tycoon Maciek Kaminski, Minneapolis, and if so the increasingly unpopular Kenwright would be replaced by Kenyon.
The Independent report says: “But with Kenyon set to be installed as executive chairman, meaning an end to the long reign of Bill Kenright who has become a divisive figure for disgruntled fans, the prospective new owners believe they can usher in a more professional and efficient way of running the club.
“Fan reaction to how the board has managed things has not gone unnoticed by leading figures in the consortium, who are committed to significantly better supporter engagement.”
All change
The current Toffees chairman divides opinion as he has presided over a period that has seen very little tangible success in the context of the club’s entire history.
It isn’t in dispute that he loves Everton and wants the best for it, but his decisions and some of his recent proclamations have done the opposite and rubbed the fanbase up the wrong way.
He was not in a position to finance growth at the club in the way that other Premier League owners were earlier this century, but his move to select Moshiri as the man to do so has led to the mess the club is now in.
Amid fan protests at the current owner’s running of the club in January, after the sacking of Rafael Benitez, Kenwright attempted to calm supporters chanting about the 27 years without a trophy by saying, via the Liverpool Echo: “It’s not 27 years – we’ve had some good times”.
That understandably went down like a lead balloon in a season where the Toffees were almost relegated from the Premier League for the first time.
It is potentially the right time for the club to change hands considering what has happened in recent years to leave it in its current predicament, but a process should not be rushed.
The prospective owners may bring their own issues but plenty of Everton fans are at the point of being willing to risk that after what they have been through.