Everton investment news: £100m MSP Sports Capital ‘late’ update suggests deal completion could be weeks away still
The upheaval at the top of Everton could be set to drag on close to the start of the new season as the Liverpool Echo report that the MSP Sports Capital investment deal may not be done until “late this summer”.
An agreement with the Americans to provide the cashflow that Farhad Moshiri requires to keep the new stadium project on track has long been considered “close”, and there is expected to be representation on a new-look Toffees board as a result.
But after two announcements saw the majority of the old members resign on 12 June before the owner convinced chairman Bill Kenwright to stay before joining an interim board himself on 23 June the final arrangements for the club appear some way off still.
The Echo reports: “MSP Sports Capital are understood to be acquiring a 25% stake in the club through a preferential share structure, which are loans with warrants that can be converted into equity further down the line, with the initial sum thought to be around £100m, although the deal might not be completed until late this summer.”
Distant
Changes are finally afoot at Everton and on balance the uncertainty is probably preferable to the status quo continuing, given the supposedly settled previous hierarchy didn’t translate into anything like success over the past two years.
But Sean Dyche is in charge of a squad that has now barely escaped relegation two years in a row and has seen notable names leave in that time with more likely to follow.
Demarai Gray looks set to join Anthony Gordon and Richarlison as important attacking options to leave the club, so the transfer window is surely going to be vital for next season’s chances.
An established new structure would logically be more conducive to a successful transfer window, so what Dyche and Kevin Thelwell can do in this climate remains to be seen.
Moshiri’s apparent desperation to keep Kenwright in place despite the chairman’s ever-increasing unpopularity among many supporters is thought to stem from his contacts and negotiating ability in the market so he is going to need to prove that in a big way this summer.
The 77-year-old’s ongoing stay at Everton is expected to be only a temporary measure after he got as far as writing a resignation letter before being talked down, but if the expectation is for the MSP deal to take most of the window to complete he may be around for some time yet.
In other Everton news, the club have been told to expect another struggle next season with Dyche essentially back in charge of Burnley at Goodison Park.