Premier League

FARHAD MOSIRI is poised to light the blue touchpaper on an £800million takeover by Roma owner Dan Friedkin.An announcement allowing the billionaire American a period of exclusivity to complete due diligence could be announced within hours.Roma owner Dan Friedkin is set to take over EvertonCredit: GettyThe Toffees are set for a summer firesale amid financial fair play woesCredit: GettySunSport understands that Friedkin, worth £4.8billion, has beaten off a bid by Vici Private Finance in the battle to become the new Everton owner.Friedkin is believed to have agreed to majority owner Moshiri’s demand for £200m up front to be given the rights to examine the club’s finances before moving ahead with the deal.His entrance as the new head honcho of the Toffees may not, however, go down well with some supporters.They are already upset that a member of his Friedkin Group described Everton as “the second club in Liverpool.”READ MORE IN FOOTBALLWhile Friedkin himself said after buying Roma in 2020 that the Serie A club would “always be the jewel in his football crown.”A straw poll of fan group Upper Gwladys Street Blues gave him only one per cent backing last weekend while Vici, funded by two American private companies and who showed £800M in cash to Moshiri, got 79 per cent.Yet Everton are in desperate straits with debts of almost £600m plus Moshiri needs a further £200m to complete the construction of his club’s new Bramley – Moore Dock home.What’s more, after losses of £133m over the last two years, they are already £2m beyond the Prem profit and sustainability limit of £105 going into the year of the regulation cycle.Most read in FootballBEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERSPremier League sides deducted points and others at risk
Nottingham Forest
Deducted four points during the 2023-24 season for breaching Premier League spending limit by £34.563m. Failed in their appeal with decision upheld.
Everton
Initial 10-point deduction for 2021-22 Premier League breaches reduced to six points on appeal. Were deducted a further two points later in the 2023-24 season. Appealed, but since withdrawn following Prem survival.
Sheffield United
Hit with a two-point deduction for their finances during the 2022-23 EFL season. Will begin the 2024-25 Championship season on -2 points following their relegation from the Prem.
OTHERS WHO COULD FACE PUNISHMENT…
Manchester City
Etihad club emphatically denies the 115 allegations laid against them in February 2023. The lengthy Commission case has been scheduled to start in October or November but a final decision is not expected until March or April 2025.
Chelsea
Blues chiefs flagged up illicit payments made to agents and others during the Roman Abramovich era. Fined £8.6m by Uefa but still to be formally charged by the Prem despite an ongoing investigation.
Leicester
Foxes breached Prem PSR loss limits last season but did not have to report their 2022-23 accounts until this month because of their relegation. That puts the timetable back and means that they will probably face a Prem points deduction for the 2024-25 season following their return to the top flight.
Everton (again)
The Toffees are again at risk of breaking PSR rules and are in a race against time to raise funds and balance the books. Not only could that lead to another charge but also administration. That would lead to an automatic nine-point deduction for the 2024/25 season.

More red figures are expected by the end of Everton’s trading year on June 30.After surviving two points deductions last season they will face another in the new campaign unless they carve into those losses by selling players to balance the books by that date.Best ten new Premier League kits for next seasonThose massive debts also mean that Everton continue to flirt with administration – which would bring an automatic nine-point deduction.Manchester United have already had one “derisory” offer of £35M for Jarrad Branthwaite rejected.The Old Trafford club tried to cash in on Everton’s financial crisis but the asking price for England prospect Branthwaite, 21, remains at £70m.United are certain to go back with a bigger offer while Amadou Onana and Dominic Calvert-Lewin are targets of Arsenal and Newcastle respectively.One or both could leave Goodison by June 30 with Abdoulaye Doucoure another star who may have to be sacrificed.Friedkin’s entrance, although it would have to be ratified by the Prem, would be too late to see the fire sale that is expected and is likely to take several weeks at least to go through.Yet his takeover would still mean blue skies for Blues fans who have seen their club escape from three successive relegation close–calls.READ MORE SUN STORIESMoshiri, meanwhile, owns his 94.1 per cent stake in the club through Blue Heaven Holdings but he is facing a personal hell.Apart from the near-£600m debt he has overseen since taking over in 2016 he has also provided Everton with £450m in shareholder loans – and he won’t get a penny of that fortune back when he finally leaves. More

PREMIER LEAGUE fans will receive team news 75 MINUTES before kick-off next season in a huge new change to competition rules.Fixtures for the upcoming campaign were released on Tuesday morning, with the action getting underway on August 16 at Old Trafford when Manchester United host Fulham.The Premier League has made a major rule change ahead of the 2024/25 seasonCredit: PA:Press AssociationAnd from the opening game of the season the earlier publishing of team news will be in place.Premier League clubs have traditionally waited until one hour before kick-off to reveal their starting line-ups.Now, according to The Mirror, that time frame has been brought forward by a quarter of an hour.This adjustment is a bid to align with rules in Uefa competitions.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLIt is also an attempt to stop leaks in the 15 minutes between the teams being given to the referee and being announced publicly.But clubs are not expected to begin adopting the Real Madrid approach of naming their teams way ahead of kick-off.Carlo Ancelotti named his XI for the Champions League final TWO HOURS before they got underway against Borussia Dortmund.The new time for announcing line-ups is not the only change set to be implemented for the 2024/25 season.Most read in FootballCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERSSemi-automated offsides will also be rolled out, though that will not come into place until after one of the early international breaks.The technology is already used in European club competitions and is also in operation at Euro 2024.Top ten greatest Premier League players of all time as Kevin de Bruyne and Cristiano Ronaldo both miss out on top spotThe Premier League believe it “will provide quicker and consistent placement of the virtual offside line, based on optical player tracking”. More

PREM chiefs agreed to an Everton request that they play AWAY on the final weekend of next season.Toffees bosses urged the Prem to ensure their final game at Goodison before the move to Bramley Moore Dock was on the penultimate weekend.Everton’s last-ever game at Goodison Park will take place before the final day of the seasonThe Toffees are moving into their new £760m Bramley Dock Moore arena next termCredit: GettyAll clubs have the right to make such pleas, with Spurs also playing their final game at White Hart Lane in 2017 – a 2-1 win over Manchester United – the weekend before the end of the campaign.Everton argued that if their season ended at Goodison on the last weekend the occasion would potentially be overshadowed by events at the top and bottom of the table.And the request was granted, with Everton finishing the season at Newcastle on May 25.It means the home game with Southampton the previous weekend will bring down the curtain on 133 years of Goodison history.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLEverton will be aiming to mark the occasion with a grand farewell and ceremony.The Toffees’ new stadium is costing £760million and will be one of the top arenas in the country.It will hold over 52,000 fans — 12,000 more than Goodison.And supporters have been eagerly anticipating its completion ever since work began in 2021.Most read in FootballEURO 2024 FREE BETS AND OFFERSMeanwhile, Everton have agreed a record multi-year kit deal with Castore to be their kit supplies from next season.The agreement will better the £38m four-year deal with Hummel which expired this month.Dominic Calvert-Lewin gets engaged to girlfriend Sandra Herze as Everton star posts beautiful 12-word messageThe new stadium will hold over 52,000 fansCredit: GettyIt has been under construction since 2021Credit: AFPThe Toffees are strapped for cash after the collapse of Everton owner Farhad Moshiri’s £600m takeover talks with controversial US company 777 Partners.And it means star players could end up being sold to keep things afloat.Jarrad Branthwaite is a top target for Manchester United and has already been the subject of a failed £35m bid.Everton rate the England defender at closer to £80m and could be open to doing business at the right price.Premier League sides deducted points and others at risk
Nottingham Forest
Deducted four points during the 2023-24 season for breaching Premier League spending limit by £34.563m. Failed in their appeal with decision upheld.
Everton
Initial 10-point deduction for 2021-22 Premier League breaches reduced to six points on appeal. Were deducted a further two points later in the 2023-24 season. Appealed, but since withdrawn following Prem survival.
Sheffield United
Hit with a two-point deduction for their finances during the 2022-23 EFL season. Will begin the 2024-25 Championship season on -2 points following their relegation from the Prem.
OTHERS WHO COULD FACE PUNISHMENT…
Manchester City
Etihad club emphatically denies the 115 allegations laid against them in February 2023. The lengthy Commission case has been scheduled to start in October or November but a final decision is not expected until March or April 2025.
Chelsea
Blues chiefs flagged up illicit payments made to agents and others during the Roman Abramovich era. Fined £8.6m by Uefa but still to be formally charged by the Prem despite an ongoing investigation.
Leicester
Foxes breached Prem PSR loss limits last season but did not have to report their 2022-23 accounts until this month because of their relegation. That puts the timetable back and means that they will probably face a Prem points deduction for the 2024-25 season following their return to the top flight.
Everton (again)
The Toffees are again at risk of breaking PSR rules and are in a race against time to raise funds and balance the books. Not only could that lead to another charge but also administration. That would lead to an automatic nine-point deduction for the 2024/25 season. More