For the third straight year, Everton recorded losses of over £100 million, highlighting the dire financial situation of the club. They have not got to this point unexpectedly. Terrible transfer deals, the COVID pandemic, erroneous policies and players being given ludicrous contracts have landed the Toffees in this precarious situation.
The fragile financial condition crippled Everton in the last summer transfer window and the grey clouds of limited funds will continue to haunt Everton this summer too. In order to comply with the Profit and Sustainability rules, the Toffees will have to generate cash through player sales which will allow them to plan their summer transfer window strategy.
Another way to save money is to let the contracts expire of players who are no longer of service or are simply not in the plans of Frank Lampard. Everton had a long list of players who had their contracts expiring this summer: Gylfi Sigurdsson, Cenk Tosun, Fabian Delph, Asmir Begovic, Jonjoe Kenny and Andy Lonergan.
With no signs of a new keeper arriving, the Merseysiders activated Begovic’s year extension, keeping him at the club at least until 2023. It is also understood that Kenny has been offered a new three year deal with an improved salary. However, the Toffees could save millions by not retaining the other players.
Everton offloading Sigurdsson, Delph and Tosun will save millions in wages
Lonergan doesn’t pocket a heavy salary at all but the presence of Harry Tryer, Billy Crellin and possibly Joao Virginia should rule out Lonergan’s extension. Even if Virginia is sold, Crellin or Tryer should be handed the role of third choice keeper.
Everton signed Gylfi Sigurdsson for then club record of £45 million from Swansea city. It was thought to be a wise investment but five years since the deal, Everton will look back at this and consider it as one of the worst deals in their history. He was on a £100,000 per week deal which amounted to close to £5.2 million a season. Sigurdsson’s departure will help Everton in saving that amount of money.
When the Toffees sold Romelu Lukaku in 2017, it was almost impossible to get a profile like the big burly Belgian in the market. Everton paid £27 million in January 2018 to sign Tosun from Besiktas who came with a reputation of being an absolute beast in front of the goal. Sadly for Everton, that beast never woke up in England. The Royal Blues tried to offload him but to no avail.
The Turk was on a £60,000 per week contract at Everton. He is close to joining Besiktas on a free transfer as his deal runs out at Goodison Park. The 30 year old’s departure will save Everton at least £3.12 million a year in wages.
Lastly, Delph’s contract is also up and while he did play an important role in Toffees’ fight for survival, there’s enough evidence over his fitness issues. He arrived from Manchester City to add experience, leadership and midfield balance for a fee of around £10 million but the Royal Blues have only seen a fraction of those qualities because of Delph’s injury issues.
On top of that, he was given a substantial contract of £80,000 per week. At 32, he doesn’t get much better in terms of fitness and the risk of injuries plaguing him always remains. Everton should part ways with the Englishman and save £4.16 million in wages annually.
The trio of Sigurdsson, Delph and Tosun cost Everton around £82 million in transfer fees. The trio’s per week wages amounted to £240,000 per week. In total, the club can save £12.48 million in wages which is a huge amount considering the financial situation that they are in.
Will the Toffees make big signings this summer?