Kevin Thelwell names two player sales that saved Everton from ‘very nervous’ situation
Kevin Thelwell has revealed the sales of Lewis Dobbin and Ben Godfrey helped Everton avoid a points deduction.
The winger moved to Aston Villa in a deal worth around £10million [Paul Joyce] which saw Tim Iroegbunam come in.
The Toffees were also able to move their versatile defender to Atalanta for the same fee ahead of the 30 June deadline [BBC Sport] which was a boost to PSR restrictions.
Speaking to BBC Radio Merseyside on 20 September, the Toffees’ Director of Football Thelwell has revealed that the duo helped to resolve any potential financial issues at Goodison.
He said: “After the points deductions, we were very nervous this year about making sure that we didn’t fall foul of those problems again.
“I’m happy to say we were able to resolve that fairly early in the market with some of the sales we made. Lewis Dobbin and Ben Godfrey in particular helped us to resolve PSR.
“It’s a worry because you don’t want to be starting the Premier League with points deductions hanging over your head and I’m glad to say that we’re able to get the right side of that and then hopefully plan as effectively as possible.”
Dobbin and Godfrey helped Everton ease PSR concerns
The Toffees were subject to two points deductions last season which threatened to derail their campaign at times.
It was down to the work of Sean Dyche and his players that they were able to avoid relegation with time to spare after a run of excellent form.
Things haven’t been quite so positive this campaign with the manager coming under fire after a poor set of results in the Premier League.
With no points so far, there are plenty of complaints from supporters but there is a good chance that things could have been worse.
Without the sales of Dobbin and Godfrey, there could have been yet another points deduction on the way for the Toffees.
There is a chance that both of these players could have featured this season and had a positive impact but selling them was more important it seems.
Thelwell clearly has backed his decision and spoke candidly about avoiding any potential punishments from the league for a PSR breach.
In other Everton news, Paul Merson has raised a ‘huge problem’ at Goodison in Leicester City clash prediction.
For more Everton news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.