Everton owner Farhad Moshiri has reportedly put the club up for sale - just one day after Frank Lampard was sacked as boss.
Moshiri has put Everton on the market and is hoping to secure at least £500million for any sale, as per a report in the Guardian. The British-Iranian businessman is the majority owner of the Merseyside club, having increased his shares to 94 per cent last year.
His decision to allegedly sell the club comes amid turmoil on and off the pitch, with the Toffees sacking Lampard after a run of defeats that left them joint-bottom at the foot of the Premier League table with just 15 points from 19 matches.
Moshiri is said to be open to either a full or partial takeover of the club, with his decision coming after months of seeking external investment into Everton. It comes amid their plans to build a new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, in a big-money project to move away from their long-time Goodison Park home.
Everton are said to have instructed Deloitte to handle the sale, which is the latest development in a chaotic week for the club following the dismissal of Lampard while earlier on Tuesday it emerged that Tottenham had hijacked their move to land forward Arnaut Danjuma from Villarreal.
Last week, Moshiri rejected the possibility of a sale as he told the club's website: “The club is not for sale but I have been talking to top investors to bridge a gap on the stadium. I can do it (the investing) myself but I want to bring top sport investors into Everton. We are close to having a deal done.”
The Blues owner added when asked about investment in the January transfer window: “We need a striker. We will get one. I have no doubt the second half of the season will be stronger. We have a plan in place in terms of recruitment and performance. We have the window to address it.”
However, since Moshiri's comments a lot has changed - with Saturday's loss worsening the club's perilous league situation and with Lampard being removed as the manager.
Lampard's sacking means that Everton are on the lookout for their seventh permanent manager since Roberto Martinez left in May 2016. In the preceding time, no boss has spent more than two years in the Goodison dugout, with Carlo Ancelotti the only one not to be sacked after he unexpectedly joined Real Madrid in the summer of 2021.
Everton are now seeking Lampard's replacement with former Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa believed to be highly thought of by the club. However, it is understood the Argentine holds reservations over the profile of the squad. Sean Dyche - who has been out of football since leaving Burnley last year - is also believed to be in the frame.
Moshiri and his fellow board members have come in for heavy criticism from the club's fans in recent weeks amid the downturn in results and general malaise at Everton. There is a strong sentiment among Toffees fans that the team has been run poorly and is in need of a new direction.
Everton's most recent accounts have shown heavy losses, fuelled by the rising costs of stadium construction coupled with ties with companies owned by the oligarch Alisher Usmanov being abandoned following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. According to the Sunday Times Rich List in 2021, Moshiri has an estimated net worth £1.7bn. He launched his takeover of Everton in 2016 and currently lives in Monaco.
