New Delhi: Adding to the ever-growing list of American-owned clubs in English football, Everton become the newest addition to that list. Dan Friedkin of The Friedkin Group has agreed to a deal with British-Iranian billionaire Farhad Moshiri to acquire his 94.1 per cent stake in the club.
The offer was made to Moshiri earlier in June and was accepted sometime last week. The final documentation will now be formalised as the commercial terms have been agreed between the two parties.
While the deal is still subject to Premier League, FA and Financial Conduct Authority approval, that is not expected to be an issue. The Friedkin Group deal takes place weeks after a takeover agreement with prospective owner 777 Partners expired.
Farhad Moshiri has been with the Merseyside club since 2016 and despite heavy investments of around £650 million in transfers, Everton have gone on to have horrible seasons in the Premier League as they slipped out of the top half of the table and have been involved in relegation battles in recent seasons.
Even in the recently concluded season, the club finished 15th on the table after being hit with two separate points deductions for breaching the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules, largely thanks to Sean Dyche’s experience of navigating through relegation battles.
Who is Dan Friedkin and what challenges will he face?
Dan and Ryan Friedkin are the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of AS Roma (Photo by Fabrizio Corradetti/LiveMedia/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Dan Friedkin is an American businessman belonging to a long line of entrepreneurs. His grandfather was Kenny Friedkin, the founder of the Pacific Southwest Airlines. Dan is the current CEO of the Friedkin Group and Gulf States Toyota, a private distributor of Toyota vehicles in the USA. The Friedkin Group is well-known in the film industry in the US, having produced 2024 Oscar nominee Killers of the Flower Moon and distributed Oscar-winning Parasite in 2019
Everton will become Friedkin’s second major football club as the American purchased Italian outfit AS Roma in 2020. Under his ownership, the club have once again become a feared Italian side and have recently competed in back-to-back European finals, winning the inaugural edition of the UEFA Europa Conference League, their first trophy in 14 years.
His experience of running a football club for the past four years will come in handy as both he and his son, Ryan Friedkin, who’s the vice-chairperson of Roma and is expected to play a key role at Everton, will be taking over a club that have been in turmoil the past few years and will face plenty of challenges as they settle into the biggest league in the world of football.
The Friedkin Group need to nail their transfer strategy
Moise Kean proved to be one of the most disappointing signings under Moshiri (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
The biggest challenge that the new owners need to address is the hay-wire transfer strategy that was implemented under Farhad Moshiri. Ever since Moshiri’s takeover back in 2016, Everton have spent huge sums of money on unproven players and have that poor sense of transfer strategy to blame for their current financial troubles.
They signed numerous players during Farhad Moshiri’s spell in charge of the club and it’s fair to say they haven’t made a mark at Goodison Park. Everton spent upwards of
£20 million on players like Davy Klassen, Neal Maupay, Dwight McNeil, James Rodriguez, Allan, Moises Kean, Jean-Phillipe Gbamin, Cenk Tosun, and Theo Walcott, the list can go on and on and not one of these players would bring a happy memory for any Everton fan.
Once the deal goes through all the checks, the biggest positive for the club in terms of the upcoming transfer window comes from the fact that they won’t be forced to sell off their star players.
Keeping hold of Branthwaite should be the new owners top priority (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
Having already lost big players like Anthony Gordon and Richarlison, players that were performing well for the club, either due to the club’s lack of performance on the field or due to their financial troubles, losing their star defender in Jarrad Branthwaite would be a huge blow for the club.
If the new owners can convince Branthwaite and manage to keep hold of star performers like Jordan Pickford and Amadou Onanna, that will be a major boost for a club who are facing challenges in signing new players. Keeping hold of their star players in addition to new shrewd signings should be the way to go for the Toffees.
They can target players like Leander Dendoncker, who has been on their radar for a while and is a versatile squad player, and Blackburn star Sammie Szmodics, who had a great season in the championship. They can even look at getting Albert Sambi Lokonga, who had a brilliant season on loan at Luton and could be an option for the Toffees as he’s out of favour at Arsenal and can be available for a lesser fee.
Can they transform the club’s Academy?
Wayne Rooney has been the best player to come out of the Everton academy (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
The Toffees have historically had a good academy and have produced some talented players who have gone on to put on great performances at Goodison Park and beyond. Players like Wayne Rooney, Leighton Baines, Leon Osman, Jack Rodwell, Ross Barkley and current club captain Seamus Coleman have all been part of Everton’s academy and were a huge part of the Everton squad of old, helping their side challenge for Europe regularly.
However, in recent times, apart from Jarrad Branthwaite and Anthony Gordon, no other academy player proved to be of quality at the highest level for the Toffees. Players like Mason Holgate, Antonee Robinson, and Tom Davies had huge expectations from them but couldn’t perform consistently for the side.
The new owners need to address this issue if they are to build a successful team that can not only challenge for Europe like the Everton of old but also make themselves a regular in such battles
Looking at the famed ‘Big Six’ of the Premier League, all sides have world-class academies at their disposal and if they are to challenge the big six, it can’t be done without having a successful academy.
The final documentation will now be formalised as the commercial terms have been agreed between the two parties. While the deal is still subject to Premier League, FA and Financial Conduct Authority approval, that is not expected to be an issue. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
