EVERTON owner Farhad Moshiri has reportedly put the club up for sale.
The Toffees sacked manager Frank Lampard on Monday after a dreadful run of results that has left them fighting relegation for a second successive season.
Everton supporters have led numerous protests against the current ownership, calling for them to leave.
The board did not attend the defeat to Southampton earlier this month after being warned about their safety.
According to The Guardian, Moshiri is now seeking an exit strategy after seven years in charge he looks to sell the club for more than £500million.
However, the club shared a video shortly after the story broke which was filmed prior to Saturday’s loss to West Ham and shows Moshiri insisting the club is NOT for sale.
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The British-Iranian businessman had been looking for outside investment, but it is now claimed he is open to a wholesale takeover.
He is willing to accept a minority or majority sale, with a “number of potential buyers” having already expressed an interest.
Deloitte are reportedly set to oversee the sale of the club.
Moshiri has put money up for Everton’s new stadium which is currently being built at Bramley-Moore Dock.
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And he is wanting to recoup that money as he plans to vacate Merseyside.
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The new ground is set to cost the club at least £550m.
Moshiri’s ownership team have spent around £700m on players but seen little success on the pitch.
Some of their big-money signings have included Amadou Onana for £31.5m, Alex Iwobi for £28m, Yerry Mina for £27m, Michael Keane for £25m and Moise Kean for £24m.
Everton finished 11th in the 2014/15 season – their final full campaign before Moshiri took over.
Since then they have managed three top 10 finishes but have been fighting for survival in the last two campaigns.
They have seen a host of managers come and go including Ronald Koeman, Sam Allardyce, Marco Silva, Carlo Ancelotti, Rafa Benitez and now Lampard.
Former Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa is the favourite to take over the Toffees as they bid to climb out of the relegation zone.
Reports of the sale come a week after the video of Moshiri telling fans he was only looking for outside investment was filmed.
In it he says: “The club is not for sale but I’ve been talking to top investors to bridge the gap on the stadium.
“I can do it myself and the reason I want to do it is to bring top sport investors into Everton for some of the reasons that the fans want improvement, more talent, and we are close to a deal.
“It’s not selling the club at all. It’s just bringing more expertise in terms of global sponsorship, in terms of commercial development. It’s to secure that for Everton.”
While the search for a new head coach goes on, Everton were left embarrassed once more on Tuesday as Tottenham hijacked their transfer target Arnaud Danjuma.
The Dutchman, 25, had already undergone a medical with the Goodison Park outfit at the weekend as he prepared to make the move from Villarreal.
But with the paperwork yet to be signed off, Spurs snuck in at the 11th hour to steal the winger on a straight loan from under Everton’s noses.
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Coming up, Everton face a host of tricky fixtures starting with a home match against league leaders Arsenal on February 4.
They then take on local rivals Liverpool, before hosting Leeds and Aston Villa.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
