Everton cannot stop Jarrad Branthwaite sale, transfer exits to continue after takeover collapse

Everton will have no choice but to sell players this summer after the collapse of Dan Friedkin’s takeover, according to The Esk.

 

Speaking on the Talking the Blues podcast on 20 July the Toffees blogger disputed the reported position from the club that the transfer window is unaffected by the ownership situation and insisted hopes of keeping hold of any players the club doesn’t want to lose is now gone.

Friedkin abandoned his deal with Farhad Moshiri over uncertainty in relation to debts built up to 777 Partners and The Esk claims this makes the club “unsellable” until that issue is resolved, which has the potential to be years down the line.

 

Cost-cutting measures have improved the finances and there is money to cover the next few months but the club is still loss-making and is said to be facing interest payments of up to £1.2million per month on their debts.

 

The Esk therefore deems more transfer exits inevitable as there is no obvious source of future funding once the current reserves run out as extra borrowing looks impossible since all the club’s assets are already security to £600m of current external loans.

He said (27m): “The selling of players will continue and any thoughts we had that we may be able to keep some of the players that we wanted to keep now disappears.

“I read the articles and the statements from the club that ‘this doesn’t effect our player-trading position’, but clearly it does, there’s no point in beating around the bush. They have to say that from a negotiating point of view, I get that.“But we don’t know where the future funding for the club is coming from at this moment in time.”

Dan Friedkin pulls out of Everton takeover from Farhad Moshiri

Alan Myers (19 July) is among those to have relayed the club’s stance that the transfer business is safe from the turmoil at the top of the club.

 

Evertonians will obviously hope that is true when multiple incoming signings are being lined up [Myers, 21 July] and the club have been refusing to cave to Manchester United‘s attempts to buy Jarrad Branthwaite on the cheap.