Everton will offer Jarrad Branthwaite a much-improved contract to compensate the defender for missing out on a big-money move to Manchester United. (Sunday Mirror), external
Want more transfer stories? Read Sunday's full gossip column
Image source, Getty ImagesWe asked for your views on Everton's 3-3 friendly draw at Sligo Rovers.
Here are some of your responses:
Michael: Really don't understand the point of this as a sporting event. It was great to see Seamus Coleman coming back to his old club but that's about it. Jenson Metcalfe was probably the best player on show but under Sean Dyche we probably won't see him again all season. Very poor performance when you consider Sligo were playing their reserves!
Andy: Just seeing the likes of Mason Holgate and Neal Maupay playing in the royal blue shirt again only compounded the misery for me after the takeover collapse. Another miserable season beckons, I feel.
Daire: I was at the game. That first half was one of the worst halves of football I've ever seen. My Sunday league team would have played better. The second half was a lot brighter, though. I have to single out Jack Harrison, Youssef Chermiti and Ilman Ndiaye for great performances - but we should have played better.
Bill: Typical pre-season. mix of youngsters and first-team squad. Lots of missed chances by Everton and Sligo took everything that fell their way. Two sets of 11s in each half that will never play a competitive game together. Sligo put up an excellent display as well. Everyone entertained.
Stu: I know it’s only a friendly, but is going to be another long season, isn't it? Ho hum.
Everton fought back from 3-1 down as they opened their pre-season campaign with a 3-3 draw away at Sligo Rovers.
Mason Holgate scored the Toffees' first goal, before a late brace from Youssef Chermiti.
What did you learn from this first game back?
With the news on Friday that takeover talks with potential buyers Friedkin Group fell through, we are asked you to have your say on the situation and Everton's future.
Here are a selection of your comments:
James: It's very disappointing but with the amount of debt that Everton are accruing maybe Moshiri will have to lower his asking price. Looks like 777 were the wrong investors to get involved with in the first place. Who else would want buy the club whilst 777 are involved?
Spider: It's a little bit of a concern. Until they resolve the 777 problem, will anyone want to buy our club? We must remember, however, we have an amazing new stadium next season, the best supporters in the world and manager and team that in my opinion is going in the right direction. The people's club.
Jon: The nightmare continues -777 were always a risk everyone seemed to know about but Mr Moshiri. A proud history being devalued by people you can't trust to buy some groceries.
Dave: The mismanagement of EFC before and especially after Farhad Moshiri had taken over is the reason our club is in such a mess. The Friedkin Group are a reputable group, so if they see as too much of a risk, who out there would do what they won't? It's a disaster and I struggle to see a permanent fix right now. Moshiri has a lot to answer for and he needs to do so.
John: Terrified to be honest, who else is going to come in now knowing the inherited problems of the loan from 777? Also really worrying that we are relying on Moshiri to get us through this.
Carter: The more it keeps on happening, the worse it seems and the worse we look. I fully believe that Dyche took us forward last season and without the drama and stress of our points deductions, the 48 points we earned would have been closer to, or even over 60. We don't need more things getting in our way, the job is hard enough. The future? What future?
Simon: Everton fans deserve better... It's as simple as that.
Giulia Bould
BBC Radio Merseyside reporter
After what has been a positive few weeks for Everton fans with some early business in the transfer window, fending off low offers for Jarrad Branthwaite and a successful pre-season in Ireland, you can understand why many supporters have a feeling of dread again.
The news the Friedkin Group's takeover is off has shocked many because the American investors had already paid off a loan of £200m.
My understanding is the issue lies with the money 777 put into the Blues during their failed takeover.
After missing deadlines to complete the deal and then news a number of lawsuits against them were being made, the Miami-based consortium stepped away last month.
It is those lawsuits that the Friedkin Group feel are too big of an issue to resolve right now and Everton are back on the market.
If you want to look for the positives, their loan means the new stadium on Liverpool's waterfront is funded and construction will complete at the end of this year.
I also understand it means currently there's no financial uncertainty at the club, with the stance on Branthwaite unchanged so there won't be a fire sale and the wider transfer plans remain the same with incomings still likely in the next 10 days.
But it isn't ideal with a pre-season friendly on Friday against Sligo Rovers meaning manager Sean Dyche will face the media for the first time since the summer break and will again be asked a lot of questions about the ownership saga rather than his plans for the new season.
Image source, Getty ImagesFootball finance expert Kieran Maguire has been discussing the news of Everton takeover talks with Friedkin Group being called off on BBC Radio Radio 5 live: "The Friedkin group was doing its due diligence into the finances of Everton and they had reservations with regards to some of the outstanding loans.
"They were hoping some of the lenders would take a reduction in what was owed to them. One of the lenders, 777, they have quite a complicated backstory and Friedkin took the view that it was becoming to complex and risky from their point of view.
"They were going to inherit some huge amounts of debt and if they couldn't guarantee some of the lenders were going to cut back on what was owed they felt it wasn't a worthwhile deal to go ahead with.
"The main concern will be on an operational level and making sure the commitments to the new stadium are met, and there are still some substantial amounts outstanding in terms of continuing to build the stadium so contractors will be monitoring things very closely.
"The potential owners, the Friedkin Group, had put in around £200m themselves as they had effectively paid off some exiting debts, so what they will want to do with regards to their investment to date we will have to monitor.
"It is a set back but Everton is still a very attractive proposition if the right price can be agreed for the club."
So, Everton's talks with the Friedkin Group over a takeover of the club have been called off after the two parties failed to reach an agreement.
The Friedkin Group, which also owns Serie A club Roma, had agreed a deal in principle to buy the Toffees in June.
How concerned are you by the club's position? What do you think will happen?
Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport football news reporter
Image source, Getty ImagesThe Friedkin Group seemed like being the latest saviours of the Toffees but talks have fallen apart and they informed owner Farhad Moshiri of their desire to pull the plug on the deal on Thursday.
BBC Sport understands the major stumbling block has been a situation involving previous prospective buyer 777 Partners, whose proposed takeover plan had been backed by funding from financial insurers A-Cap.
The 777 group loaned Everton £200m during their attempt to take over and the issue was not paying that off, but the legal action that 777 faces in the US.
They go into 2024-25 with renewed vigour in, what will be, a season of celebration during the club's final games at Goodison Park before moving into their new home on Bramley-Moore Dock.
Friedkin Group did not know how long this would last for, was unclear about who was in charge of the loan, and was wary of any potential risk, so it decided to walk away rather than wait for the issues to be resolved.
Now The Friedkin Group have become the latest creditor to the club after lending them £200m during their short period in trying to purchase Everton.
For Moshiri, it's back to square one as he seeks to find another buyer.
Image source, Getty ImagesSeamus Coleman has become an Everton mainstay, amassing 422 appearances in all competitions and has the honour of being the club's longest-serving Premier League player, featuring 364 times in the top flight.
He cost the Toffees £60,000 - a fee that works out at £142 a game.
Despite the churn of players and managers during his time at the club, serving 11 different bosses, Coleman remains – at the age of 35 – the first-choice pick at right-back when fit.
The team has battled against relegation in recent seasons, a period which Coleman describes as being "tough for everyone".
"It is a special club full of hardworking and honest people like the fans," he says. "There are times when it is tough and they tell you the home truths but don't we all need that sometimes?
“I think I have been very fortunate that I didn't leave the city and I am very grateful that I didn't.
"It wasn't until we had the last two or three years that I did fully realise and understand how massive this football club is to the people.
"I know it sounds extreme but the people I have seen and talked to, they live for Everton. That is what gets them out of bed on a morning."
Read more from Coleman as Everton face the captain's former club
Image source, Getty ImagesIt seems inevitable a host of Premier League managers will point to fixture congestion in the months to come.
When injuries mount, or when time on the training ground is squeezed, coaches often reference the intense nature of the calendar.
But research conducted by the respected CIES Football Observatory has delivered data which shows clubs are - on average - not playing more competitive games than they have in the last couple of decades.
The CIES looked at 677 clubs across 40 leagues. In looking at a period from 2012 to 2024, its findings show in 2023-24, the average club played 42.4 competitive matches. In 2014-15 that figure was 42.6 and in 2020-21 it hit 43.9.
And if focus is placed on sides competing in the Champions League, data gathered between 2000 and 2024 also shows sides are not setting fixture records in the current game, as some managers may like to loosely imply.
In looking at the five major European Leagues, the CIES claim Champions League competitors played an average of 50.8 matches last season.
In 2020-21 they averaged 57.9 and in 2002-03 they contested 55.2.
Manchester United played in 52 competitive games last season, down from highs of 71 in 2020-21 and 66 in 2008-09.
Across all of the clubs analysed, only 4% played more than 60 games last season. In 2012-13, the figure stood at 5.1%.
While clubs may play added friendlies and - it would be fair to say - individual matches tend to be longer given increased injury time in the current game, the data shows that competitive fixture numbers are flat or have in most cases fallen, even if disgruntled managers say otherwise.
Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport football news reporter
Image source, Getty ImagesEverton are interested in signing forward Jesper Lindstrom from Napoli.
The 24-year-old Denmark international joined the Serie A side from Eintracht Frankfurt last summer for £25m but has failed to make an impact in Italy.
Lindstrom made just two starts all season and did not manage to score a goal or register an assists.
The Toffees are looking to add a winger to their squad this summer.
They are also known to have a long-standing interest in Leeds United's Wilfried Gnonto and had three bids for the 20-year-old Italy international rejected last summer.
Image source, Getty ImagesEverton defender Jarrad Branthwaite says he wants to "keep developing as a player" as he looks to build on a fine personal season that ended with an England debut.
Branthwaite, 22, played a key role in the Blues ending last season with the fourth-best defensive record in the Premier League and has been the subject of interest from Manchester United this summer.
"It's just about taking on what I learned last season and the season before and putting it all together and keeping it going into this season," Branthwaite told club media.
"Last season, playing all the games I did helped me put performances in and get the experience I needed. I'm going to take that into this season and keep learning.
"For any young player it's about playing as many games as you can. That gives you the experience you need."
Despite their defensive solidity in Sean Dyche's first full campaign in charge, Everton only confirmed their safety late in the season after being deducted a total of 10 points for breaching Premier League financial rules.
"When you've got a good defensive record it gives you confidence going into the new season," Branthwaite added.
"It's how the manager has got us set up to give us the best possible chance to win games.
"It'll be the same this season and hopefully we can pick up a few wins early on and get the momentum early."
We asked for your thoughts on the new Everton home kit to be worn for the final season at Goodison Park.
Here are some of your responses:
Dean: A complete disappointment. The 125th Goodison Park anniversary jersey should have been the basis for our final one at the ground. Original crest, small collar with sponsor and manufacturer in a similar blue to the shirt (a nod to the early jerseys we wore at the Old Lady).
Noel: Love the new home shirt. I will certainly be buying it.
Lee: Loving the nod to history, but very underwhelmed with Castore's first effort at producing our strip. I'd have preferred a solid royal blue with white trim (without any fuss) and the original EFC badge on the back of the neck as a tribute. Given the time they've had to come up with this, it's a poor attempt.
Adam: Very average and uninspiring. Terrible looking sponsor (still). And far too expensive.
Lewis: The home kit is really nice - it's better than the one last season. Will miss Hummel but a strong start from Castore. Hope away and third kit are as nice.
Tony: So boring. Expensive and lacks innovation or creativity. Poor.
Everton midfielder Amadou Onana is set to complete his move to Aston Villa by this weekend. (Sky Sports, external)
Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column
Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport football news reporter in Ireland
Image source, Getty ImagesEverton defender James Tarkowski has left the door open for an England call-up after Gareth Southgate quit as manager on Tuesday.
Tarkowski, 31, has played only twice for the Three Lions despite impressive performances for Burnley and Brentford during his career.
Last season, he was part of a Toffees backline which kept the second most clean sheets in the Premier League, behind only Arsenal.
Tarkowski also revealed he could have featured for Poland after receiving a call a number of years ago.
"In the past few years, I have accepted I wasn't going to get close to it [England] because the manager had ideas about other players rather than me," he told BBC Sport.
"But now the manager is changing, who knows? I feel like I am in my prime years to play football so we will see what comes ahead."
Tarkowski joined Everton on a free transfer in 2022 and has dealt with the sacking of Frank Lampard, two separate points deductions last season and the uncertainty of a takeover.
The centre-back said: "I could never have expected anything that has happened here. There have been difficult times but I have loved playing for the football club.
"The fans are incredible and I am excited about what the next couple of years hold. It has been tough but I have enjoyed the high moments."
Tarkowski said of manager Sean Dyche: "In my time with him, he is incredible at bringing the group together and getting everyone on the same page.
"It sounds easy but it is difficult. There are 25 players who want to play but only 11 can start a football match.
"Trying to keep the others on side and making sure everyone wants the same results is difficult. He says what he thinks, he is honest and is a real manager and leader."
Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport football news reporter in Ireland
Truth or lie?
James Tarkowski's favourite activity with his wife is... making love?
It's the truth, as revealed by the pair in Amazon documentary Married To The Game, which they featured in earlier this year.
"It came about through my wife," Everton defender Tarkowski told BBC Sport. "I was umm'ing and ahh'ing but she was quite interested in doing it.
"I enjoyed it - it was an experience. Hopefully my defending is better than my flirting!"
Having had a taste for reality TV, Tarkowski wants to try his hand at other shows - including a very popular one on the BBC.
He said: "I would do I'm A Celebrity and I quite enjoy Would I Lie To You? I like quiz shows.
"If you've got any contacts, let me know."
I'll get on the BBC database and start searching for some email addresses then...
Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport football news reporter in Ireland
Image source, Getty ImagesEverton players want to "put the club back to where it belongs", says full-back Ashley Young.
The Toffees have struggled at the wrong end of the table in recent years and finished 15th in the Premier League last season.
This campaign is their final one at Goodison Park before moving to a new, state-of-the-art venue at Bramley-Moore Dock.
Young told BBC Sport: "It is going to be a sad time leaving Goodison Park but having the new stadium to look forward to - and the takeover - we, as players, have to go out there and play football and do well for the club.
"It is exciting times and we want to get off to a good start in the Premier League and put the club back where it belongs - that is high up in the top 10 in the table."
Ex-England international Young joined on a free transfer last summer and signed a one-year contract extension in June after featuring 34 times in 2023-24.
"We did something special," said Young. "The two points deductions we took were tough to take.
"The team spirit got us through that and so did the fans. I am nowhere near ready to retire and I can give more to this club."
As it stands, Young will be the Premier League's oldest outfield player next term - and Everton's oldest ever outfield player in the top flight.
"I am still able to do it," said the 39-year-old. "I know what I can do, how fit I am and what I can bring to this team. I prove it year in, year out.
"There have been many times people have written me off and I have always got answers. The best way to answer the critics is on the pitch."
Image source, Everton FCEverton have released their 2024-25 home kit that will be worn during the final season at Goodison Park.
According to the club, the shirt pays tribute to the Toffees' first official crest from 1920, with the letters EFC deconstructed within the print.
The Blues said: "The traditional royal blue shirt features a round-necked, blue and white hooped collar and pays homage to 'The Originals', a term that recognises Everton's place within its own city of Liverpool and the wider game of football."
Club captain Seamus Coleman said: "It is very traditional and has a modern twist. The elements of the original crest from the 1920s woven into the design are a great nod to the past.
"I know how much Evertonians respect their history and that will play a major part this season as we prepare to say goodbye to Goodison, a stadium that means so much to everybody."
What do you think of the new kit, Blues fans? Have your say here, external
Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport football news reporter in Ireland
Image source, Getty ImagesSean Dyche's name "should be in the hat" for the vacant position of England manager, says Everton full-back Ashley Young.
The Three Lions job is available after Gareth Southgate resigned from the role - which Young called "disappointing" - just two days after their heartbreaking 2-1 defeat by Spain in the Euro 2024 final.
Dyche was named Toffees boss in January 2023 and steered the side to Premier League safety at the end of that season and secured a 15th place finish last term.
“I don’t think even when Gareth Southgate got the job, he [Dyche] was considered to be England manager," former England full-back Young told BBC Sport.
"Who can say the gaffer shouldn’t be considered because you don’t know until someone is given that role.
"You have had previous managers like Steve McClaren, Fabio Capello, Roy Hodgson who have come in with a longer career in the game, with more success but have not been able to get the England team to, where I feel, an England team should have been.
"There will be names thrown in the hat left, right and centre and for the job the manager has done, of course his name should be in the hat."
Dyche previously spent almost a decade at Burnley where he guided the unfancied Clarets to Europa League football with a seventh-placed finish in the Premier League.
Last season, he secured Everton's top-flight status with three games to spare on the back of two separate points deductions and the uncertainty of a takeover of the club.
Speaking at Everton's training camp in Ireland, Young said: "When he came in it looked like the club was going to get relegated and he saved them on the final day of the season.
"He was still able to come in and turn the club around. Last season, if things were different the position we could have finished in could have been totally different.
"I don’t think he is given the praise for what he does and brings to the club. There should be so much more praise for what he has done.”
Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport football news reporter in Ireland
It is a beautiful setting just outside Dublin for Everton's pre-season camp in Ireland this week.
It is just a shame the weather is more mid-November than mid-July.
But the Toffees' players will be glad of the overcast conditions as they are put through their paces with double training sessions this week.
On Friday, they travel across the country to face Sligo Rovers in their first pre-season friendly of the summer, with captain Seamus Coleman going back to his hometown club for the first time.
New signings Iliman Ndiaye and Tim Ireogbunam are here, as is the returning Jack Harrison - and free agent Dele Alli has also travelled with the squad as he aims to secure another contract with the club.
I'm hoping to speak to some of the players while here over the next few days - starting with veteran full-back Ashley Young later on Tuesday - so do check back in for regular updates.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe football never stops.
Euro 2024 has barely finished but Premier League clubs have already started turning their attention to pre-season friendlies.
The games are spread across the globe, from Tokyo and New York to Sligo and Crawley.
So who will your team face? And when and where are the matches?
