With Everton’s takeover saga rumbling on, it feels like with each passing week we have a new frontrunner supposedly in the driving seat to assume control.
Farhad Moshiri has already proven his desperation to sell the club in the last year, and will clearly happily do it at the expense of its long-term future, but fortunately, the Iranian is currently inundated with viable candidates seeking to pick up where 777 Partners left off.
Whether it be Saudi-backed consortiums or fan-led alternatives, there are some truly intelligent businessmen in the frame, and some supremely wealthy ones as well.
Dan Friedkin seemingly marks a fine blend of the two, and he is the latest flavour of the month who actually seems set to profit from his emergence as the leading candidate.
Dan Friedkin agrees deal to buy Everton
The latest on the AS Roma owner’s attempts to add Everton to his multi-club model comes courtesy of Italian outlet La Gazzetta dello Sport, who report that Friedkin has now finalised terms with Moshiri over a deal to purchase the club.
However, we have been here before, and still seen no progress on this front.
Back in September, 777 Partners emerged from nowhere to do the same with the former Arsenal shareholder, and yet ten months on they failed to turn that into tangible success.
So, whilst the American might have done all the right things so far, he is still so far from completion.
Regardless, this report does detail how long we can expect this latest leg of the saga to drag on for, as it reads: ‘Roma owner Dan Friedkin will sign a deal to buy Everton today and enter into an exclusivity period with owner Farhad Moshiri.
‘To go through the transfer of ownership will then only have to be endorsed by the Premier League, which will initiate an accounting control procedure (a formality) for which they will pass between 4 and 6 weeks.’
Everton must avoid another 777 Partners debacle
Although Evertonians will want Moshiri to have picked the best suitor to match the club’s long-term ambitions of sustainability and security, they will also not want him to rush into anything.
After all, his rash desperation to sell the club nearly resulted in 777 Partners’ success, and given the turmoil that they are currently facing from within the business, that could have proved devastating.
So, a quick and streamlined process is needed.
The Toffees simply can’t afford to allow another proposed takeover to drag on for months and months, especially with the summer transfer window having just started.
Sean Dyche and Kevin Thelwell have enough hurdles to overcome without Moshiri adding more, and hopefully it does take a mere six weeks to ratify this deal and allow Friedkin to come and make an instant impression with a cash injection to allow them to spend this summer.
