Everton’s Owners Explore Sale as Man City Case Draws Fresh Political Controversy
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Everton’s owners, the Friedkin Group, are exploring a sale of the club less than two years after completing a takeover reported to be worth more than £400m, the American group confirmed in a statement to BBC Sport. TFG said that after securing the club’s stability and delivering its new stadium, “the time is right to consider the next chapter,” adding it will only “entertain interest from parties who we strongly believe will be the right stewards” for Everton, who sit seventh in the Premier League after seven matches.
Senior Premier League figures have told BBC Sport they are “concerned” about political interference in Manchester City’s appeal after Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he would be “really concerned” if City’s owners decided to sell following the club’s guilty verdict on financial rule breaches. Club sources called the comments “absolutely bizarre” given Burnham’s past ties to City’s ownership as former mayor of Greater Manchester, and Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has demanded Downing Street release details of his meetings with club figures; Burnham has since said the independent process “needs to run its course.”
Transfer and squad notes
Manchester United’s £70m summer signing Carlos Baleba is set to make his debut against bottom-of-the-table Tottenham this weekend, having been sidelined by an ankle injury since his move from Brighton on 25 August, BBC Sport reported. United sit 12th in the table with one win from five league games and have yet to keep a clean sheet this season, putting early pressure on the 22-year-old Cameroon international to stabilise Michael Carrick’s midfield before a run of away games against Leeds, Atletico Madrid and Como.
Sunderland and Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka has received a suspended fine of 150,000 Swiss francs (£136,000) after admitting to obtaining a forged Covid-19 vaccination certificate in 2022, BBC Sport reported. The 34-year-old said he accepts the decision and has already paid court costs; he withdrew from Switzerland’s recent Nations League camp over the matter but is expected to return for Sunderland’s home game against Brighton on Saturday.
Arsenal are showing a new tactical approach under Mikel Arteta following their 3-0 defeat at Brighton before the break, with Declan Rice now dropping into a back three alongside Ezri Konsa and Gabriel Magalhaes and 20-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly operating as the midfield pivot, BBC Sport’s tactics analysis found. Arsenal had won every match this season before that loss to a Brighton side managed by Fabian Hurzeler.
What it means for the league
Everton’s potential sale adds a major ownership question to a club that has only recently stabilised after years of financial turmoil, and any process is likely to draw scrutiny over who TFG considers suitable buyers. The political row over Manchester City shows the club’s case has moved beyond football governance into national politics, raising the stakes for an appeal hearing expected before Christmas. On the pitch, Manchester United’s reliance on an untested Baleba and Arsenal’s tactical experiments under Arteta suggest several of the league’s bigger clubs are still working out their identity for the season as action resumes this weekend.