Dan Friedkin eyes Everton transfer splash, statement signing tipped in positive finance update

The Friedkin Group [TFG] are likely to want to make a “statement signing” for Everton after completing their takeover, according to Kieran Maguire.

The football finance expert from the University of Liverpool told TBR Football on 22 October that the incoming owners will improve the financial situation greatly at Goodison Park, after money was regularly borrowed under Farhad Moshiri.

But he warned that the Americans will need to be careful if they look to make a splash in the transfer market as they may then find themselves needing to sell again early in the summer window to balance the books.

Maguire said: “I think they would like to make a statement signing. What they don’t want to do is put themselves in a compromising position whereby they have to sell a player before 30th June.

“But assuming the deal goes ahead, I’m sure the Friedkin group have already had conversations.

Pushing the envelope too far put the club under pressure heading into the summer, having to sell before the 30 June accounting cut off for another year.

Lewis Dobbin and Ben Godfrey were sold last summer to help balance the previous year’s spending, and Amadou Onana’s £50million exit to Aston Villa later in the summer [BBC Sport, 22 July] allowed for some reasonable recruitment.