At long last, the Friedkin Group have completed their takeover of Everton.
The American consortium have conducted a long-running push to add the Toffees to their portfolio of football clubs alongside Italian giants AS Roma, with a deal in excess of £400m for 99.5% of the club finally going through on Thursday.
“I take immense pride in welcoming one of England’s most historic football clubs to our global family, the Friedkin Group. Everton represents a proud legacy, and we are honoured to become custodians of this great institution,” Dan Friedkin wrote in an open letter.
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“Whilst we are new to the club, we fully understand the vital role Everton plays in local culture, history, and the lives of Evertonians here and around the world.
“We are deeply committed to honouring this legacy while contributing positively to the community, economy, and people of this remarkable city.”
Friedkin now controls one of the most historic clubs in European football. Founder members of both the Football League and the Premier League, with nine league titles, five FA Cups and a European Cup Winners’ Cup to their name.
There will be a level of scepticism among Evertonians, who are still burned from the Farhad Moshiri era. However, many likely won’t be able to help themselves in getting at least a little optimistic about what lies ahead.
Of course, there are a host of problems for the Friedkin Group to address now that they have the keys to Everton Football Club. Here are four of them:
1. Massive debt and transfer strategy
According to their latest accounts, Everton’s debts now stand at a whopping £330.6m. Even among the numbers floated around in modern football, that’s an eye-watering amount. But there is a significant positive in that most of the debt is expected to be converted into equity, repaid, or restructured.. That should free up Everton to make the most of their new stadium next season, with all the financial benefits that will come with it.
However, in the short and medium terms, the Toffees are still going to be severely hamstrung by profit and sustainability rules.
According to Forbes, Dan Friedkin is worth £6.15bn, which makes Everton one of the richest clubs in the Premier League. However, you only have to look at Newcastle United to realise that a super-rich owner no longer translates into massive spending on marquee signings.
Club Statement: Everton Football Club acquired by Roundhouse Capital Holdings Limited, part of The Friedkin Group. 🔵
— Everton (@Everton) December 19, 2024
The Magpies have, instead, had to be measured in the market, picking off a couple of key areas for improvement, one window at a time.
Since the start of the 2022/23 season, Everton are the only club in the Premier League with a positive net spend, such has been their spending position. Whether under Kevin Thelwell or a new sporting director, Everton will need to continue their frugal approach under Friedkin, who must spend his money wisely.
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2. Contracts
Any transfer strategy — whether new or a continuation — will have to factor in what is a very messy contract situation at Goodison Park right now.
Per Transfermarkt, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Idrissa Gueye, Seamus Coleman, Ashley Young, Michael Keane, Asmir Begovic and Joao Virginia are all out of contract at the end of this season. Added to that, Orel Mangala, Jack Harrison and Jesper Lindstrom are all on loan, while the likes of James Tarkowski, Vitaly Mykolenko and James Garner only have deals lasting until the summer of 2026.
In short, there are a lot of key decisions to make regarding this patchwork Everton squad.
Under better circumstances, the likes of Coleman and Young would be allowed to retire, while Keane would be allowed to leave the club for free.
However, as mentioned, Everton continue to work under very tight spending restrictions. Every player that leaves is another that will need replacing in the transfer market and there are only so many loans a club can make.
So, do Everton keep some veterans and underperforming players around for another year to continue paving over cracks, or can Friedkin and Co figure out a way to let them go and rejuvenate this squad without landing the club in further PSR trouble?
3. Sean Dyche
The future of Sean Dyche has been a source of debate among Evertonians for a while now and that will only increase following the club’s takeover.
There’s no doubt Dyche has done an incredible job of keeping Everton safe under horrendous circumstances; not just limited to spending restrictions, but also including last season’s points deductions. Remember, he took over a side leaking goals under Frank Lampard and has now turned them into one of the strongest defensive units in the Premier League, with Jordan Pickford second in the Golden Glove race last season and currently enjoying a run of four clean sheets in five games.
But Everton have also failed to score in four of those five games, with many fans becoming very frustrated with some of the turgid football on show. The likes of Calvert-Lewin and Beto are simply failing to deliver the goods, while their job is being made harder by those around them not creating opportunities.
Some blame Dyche for this, but can you really? Can he realistically sacrifice some solidity in search of more goals, or is it smarter to stay as pragmatic as possible given the lack of quality he has at his disposal?
All questions for Friedkin to consider, but the early conversations seem to suggest that Dyche is the smart and safe option for now.
“It was about the format moving forward,” Dyche said of an initial conversation with new executive chairman Marc Watts, adding: “They are fully supportive of me, the staff and the team going forward. They were asking questions about what I have learnt in my time and the overall feel of the club.”
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4. Goodison Park legacy
This is a pivotal time in the history of Everton Football Club.
At the end of this season, they will finally depart their spiritual home of Goodison Park — opened 132 years ago — as they move to their state-of-the-art new home at the Bramley Moore docks.
Everton’s new stadium is absolutely stunning. Modern yet unique and sure to generate an incredible atmosphere. Supporters cannot wait to get there and move into a new era, with Goodison Park falling behind the times long ago.
— Everton Stadium (@EvertonStadium) December 19, 2024
However, Goodison Park is more than just a football stadium. For many supporters of this club, it has been the only footballing cathedral they’ve ever known. There really is no other ground in the world quite like it and it’s going to be an extremely tearful day when the doors are closed for the final time.
That kind of emotional upheaval must be handled with the utmost care and the same goes with the legacy of the Goodison Park site once the stadium is gone. As a newcomer, Friedkin must get this one right.
He also needs to make sure the move to the banks of the River Mersey is handled well. This is the one positive left behind by Moshiri and Evertonians won’t take kindly to a cold, corporate approach to their new home. Sponsorships and naming rights are just a couple of the minefields Friedkin needs to navigate — alongside, of course, delivering positive results and getting the new stadium off to the best start possible.
Everton fans have not been a happy bunch in recent years, thanks largely to the club’s ownership and executive line-up. Friedkin has a chance to unite them but get it wrong and he’ll find his hand stuck inside a very angry hornet nest.