Inside Everton, they are talking about phase two of the Friedkin Group’s ownership of the club.
If phase one was about stabilising the Toffees financially – and pouring almost £500m into the club, which sources insist “they don’t expect to see a penny back of” – then Everton are entering a new period in which TFG expect them to stand on their own two feet and “operate as a business”.
It is not, perhaps, what was on the brochure when TFG took over an ailing club in financial distress in December 2024.
But a combination of the financial reality of the Premier League’s arms race, the cost of resetting Everton’s finances and top flight financial rules appears to have ushered in a new reality at the Hill Dickinson Stadium which became particularly apparent in the final days of the transfer window.
“They remain committed and the ambitions remain,” says one insider with knowledge of TFG’s intentions.
