EVERTON could be plunged into a new crisis unless the club’s prospective owners get a last-minute overnight extension to a demand they make a £158m loan repayment.
Florida-based 777 Partners’ bid to take control of the Goodison club has been in limbo for six months – despite claims it would be cleared before Christmas.
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And the US group, headed by baseball cap-wearing Josh Wander, is locked in talks over avoiding FAILING the Prem’s current conditions – and potentially seeing the club spiral into administration and an automatic NINE point deduction.
Last month, Prem legal chiefs said 777 had to satisfy FOUR strict conditions before the proposed £500m deal could be approved.
In addition to converting their current £150m in loans to the club into an equity stake, they were also ordered to put sufficient funds into an escrow account – a holding bank account controlled by a third party – to ensure the club’s bills, including wages, for the rest of the season are guaranteed.
The Prem said that 777 needed to pay current owner Farhad Moshiri an up front payment of £64m, potentially rising to £130m.
And “by mid-April” – which later emerged to be 5am on Tuesday, midnight Monday in New York – 777 had to provide proof of funding to complete the £500m-plus club’s new home at Bramley Moore Dock as well as repaying a loan of £158m for stadium building made by another US-based fund, MSP Sports capital.
It is the last element which was the most pressing after 777 asked for an extension to that deadline, which has yet to be granted.
That could see Moshiri lose control of the club in a matter of hours, effectively ending the sale process with creditors believed to be keen on taking a stake in the £500m Bramley Moore Dock stadium which is nearing completion.
But if the plug is pulled on the 777 takeover and the funding required to see out the season, Everton could be forced into administration.
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Meanwhile, Everton are set to save millions as Dele Alli makes his punditry debut.
The midfielder will appear on Monday Night Football for the coverage of Chelsea vs Everton.
He joined the Toffees two years ago on a free transfer with a series of appearance-based add-ons.
As part of the deal, Everton would have to pay Spurs £10m if Alli made 20 Premier League appearances.
However, injuries and a dip in form have limited him to just 13 league appearances.
After the game at Stamford Bridge, Alli could only reach 19 appearances this season, one short of the required amount to trigger the payment.
Everton have had a tough season on the pitch with the club being subject to two point deductions.
The first punishment saw ten points taken off the team for PSR breaches in the 2021/22 season but it was reduced to six after an appeal.
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The second deduction was worth two points for breaching the league’s Profit and Sustainability rules in the 2022/23 season.
The club is set to appeal that deduction as well.