US takeover of Everton to be done by late July

The momentum behind a potential takeover of Everton by the American consortium fronted by Peter Kenyon, appears to be gathering real pace today.

Media reports indicate that Kenyon’s group are trying to seal a deal for Everton before the club flies out for their pre-season tour of the States in late July. That tour includes a stop in the hometown, Minneapolis,  of the main investor behind the consortium; the Kaminski family.

Also perhaps critically, there is apparently a commitment that the takeover won’t be a debt-leveraged one. That will reassure supporters that something akin to the controversial buy-out of Manchester United that left the Red Devils with millions in added debt, won’t happen.

Of course, it’s all still ultimately rumours and obviously nothing is settled until an official announcement is made by the club.

However, the Daily Telegraph where this originated, is a more reliable source than many and the old saying of ‘there’s no smoke without fire’ seems somewhat appropriate in this situaiton.

I’m not certian what to think about this potential takeover. On one hand I certainly do think a change at the top wouldn’t be a bad thing given how chaotic and frustratingly underachieving Farhad Moshiri’s period in control has been.

The Toffees’ are in a huge mess financially due to all the wasted spending on players and managers over the last six years and are teetering on the edge of a possible transfer ban and points deduction if they further overstep the Premier League’s rules.

This massively negative financial outcome might hinge on whether the Blues’ can sell Richarlison before midnight tomorrow when the current financial year ends.

At the moment it looks like Tottenham are in the driving seat to sign Richarlison and that deal might well still happen before the year-end deadline tomorrow.

Returning to the takeover, as I’ve said before I don’t think anyone can say that Moshiri’s era has been successful, certainly not on the pitch anyway, although to be fair the new stadium project has got off the ground.

And, as we all know, the Toffees’ will have little real spending power in this transfer window regardless of who owns the club without some very imaginative sponsorship and related deals.

Whether that is the consortium centred around the US-based group led by Kenyon or another of the alledged other parties who are interested in buying the club, as yet we still don’t know. But, it does feel more and more like this process has an unstoppable momentum behind it.

For me the supposed amount of money or investment new owners bring to the table is not the most important aspect of this. Yes, deep pockets are usually an advantage in this day and age, but Everton have had plenty of money to spend recently and look where they are now.

What is more critical I think, is that whoever takes over has a strong background in successful sports and/or related entertainment businesses, or puts in place people at the top of the club structure who do.

Someone like Kenyon perhaps fits the bill as he is rumoured to be taking a key executive role, if the takeover goes through.

The Blues’ need clarity of direction and a firm but also a realistic strategy in place, and one that is bearing real, tangible fruit both on and off the pitch in time for the opening of their new ground in two years.