Newcastle United’s Premier League rivals ‘close’ to takeover amid Manchester United U-turn

Miami-based private investment company 777 Partners are close to agreeing a deal to take over Everton, according to reports.

Talks between the Toffees and 777 have accelerated since the news that rival American group MSP Sports Capital had ended its exclusivity agreement with owner Farhad Moshiri last month.

It’s now widely reported that a deal is close, although it could take several months before it is finalised in order to meet Premier League requirements.

The group 777, which was founded in 2015 and is led by managing partners Steven Pasko and Josh Wander, already have a number of football clubs in its portfolio including Sevilla, Hertha Berlin and Standard Liege, whose fans held a protest criticising their involvement at their last game.

Everton fans held protests against Moshiri last season, despite the British-Iranian businessmen investing more than £750million since 2016. That said, the Merseyside club are preparing to appear before an independent commission next month over its alleged breach of Financial Fair play Rules.

Under Premier League rules, clubs are permitted to lose up to £105m over a three-year period. Everton have announced a cumulative loss of more than £430m over the last five years but denied any wrongdoing and said they are “prepared to robustly defend” their position.

On a wider Premier League club takeover front, the news follows that of the Glazers’ potential U-turn regarding Manchester United.

British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim both submitted offers in the region of £5billion to buy the Red Devils but the Glazers are reportedly considering taking the club off the market.

Newcastle United were 80 per-cent taken over by the Public Investment of Saudi Arabia in October 2021, while the sale of Chelsea to Todd Boehly was the next high-profile English takeover to follow months later.