Kieran Maguire speculates at out-of-court settlement between Everton and Leeds after what he's heard

Everton and Leeds United may have reached an out-of-court settlement over a compensation claim made by the Whites, finance expert Kieran Maguire has said.

Last week, it was announced that the Toffees had been ordered to pay £35million to Burnley over the impact of a breach of the Premier League's financial rules.

The Clarets argued that Everton's failure to adhere to PSR rules for the 2021-22 season, monitored over a three-year period, affected their chances of staying in the top flight.

A Premier League Commission ruled in favour of Burnley, ordering Everton to pay a £26m sum, plus £9m in interest.

Everton appealed against the ruling, citing they are "clear in the belief the ruling is fundamentally flawed in both law and fact", and that the "ruling sets a dangerous and unworkable precedent for English football".

But, according to Maguire, there is the possibility that Everton reached an agreement with Leeds over a separate complaint.

What is Kieran Maguire referring to with Everton and Leeds?

Maguire was reacting to the news of Everton's ruling and subsequent appeal on his Price of Football podcast.

The finance expert acknowledged that the decision ordered by the Premier League Commission had taken a lot of people by surprise.

Later in his assessment, he spoke about how there was a story he has heard that Leeds had argued they were due compensation because they finished one place below Everton in the 2021-22 season.

And Maguire suggested that the two clubs may have already settled the outcome privately.

He said: "There is a story doing the rounds, and I've seen it in a couple of sort of fairly senior journals, that there was an out-of-court agreement between Leeds United and Everton.

"Because in the season Everton had their breach, they ended up finishing one place above Leeds United.

"If Burnley are now getting compensation, could Leeds have therefore said, and if this out-of-court settlement is true, 'well, we could have finished one place higher, we'd have got an extra £3million in prize money. Let's get this sorted.'"

Everton fans have suffered enough

The decision of the Premier League Commission certainly caught many in the world of football off guard.

As the old adage goes, this could potentially open a can of worms, and the Premier League could end up making a rod for its own back.

As it pertains to Everton, it is a genuine shame these issues are still rearing their ugly head after the financial pain the club went through prior to the Friedkin Group's successful purchase of the club.

Toffees supporters have suffered enough, it feels wrong to keep dragging these issues up and inflicting even more punishments on the club.