The Premier League will hold a key meeting today around related party transactions that could impact the plans of Everton's prospective owners in the transfer market moving forward.
Should 777 Partners be successful in their acquisition of Everton and obtain the required regulatory approvals then the Goodison Park outfit would become club number seven in the portfolio in terms of teams where they hold majority positions.
The Miami-based firm remain ‘confident’ that they will get the green light from the Football Association, Premier League and Financial Conduct Authority to complete the purchase of Farhad Moshiri’s 94.1% shareholding in the club, although there remain question marks about how 777 will fund the purchase, as well as the capital commitment required to complete the stadium build at Bramley-Moore Dock. The governing bodies currently assessing the case would have to be satisfied.
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Presently 777 have controlling positions in Standard Liege (Belgium), Red Star FC (France), Vasco da Gama (Brazil), Hertha Berlin (Germany), Genoa (Italy) and Melbourne Victory (Australia), while they have a minority stake in Spanish side Sevilla.
As part of a sales pitch to investors, The Athletic reported earlier this month that among the benefits of their multi-club model were the synergies that can exist across clubs, from management structure, to data pipelines, through to scouting and medical process.
But one avenue that may have been on the 777 agenda for the future of the club looks set to be closed off, initially temporarily but likely leading to a more permanent solution as Premier League clubs seek to challenge any perceived loopholes that exist for clubs whose owners have controlling stakes in other clubs around the world.
Premier League clubs will vote at today's shareholders meeting on plans to place a temporary ban on loan moves that take place between associated clubs, with the report citing the example of Newcastle United’s rumoured interest in Portuguese midfielder Ruben Neves, a player currently out in Saudi Arabia and playing for Al-Hilal, a team that is owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, the same owners as the Magpies.
The proposed January ban forms part of a wider plan by member clubs to crack down on the channels that exist between associated clubs, something that includes both direct transfers of players as well as the sourcing of sponsorship at above market levels from related parties to ownership. Any ban would be relevant to players coming in to the Premier League, clubs would still be able to shift their players out on loan to associated clubs within their ownership portfolios.
It isn’t a tactic that is widespread at present among 777 clubs, although it is one that has been explored. At present, Standard Liege have Hertha Berlin’s Wilfried Kanga on loan, while Paolo Gozzi is currently on loan at Red Star from Genoa. Last season loans took place between Genoa and Standard Liege, with Filippo Melengoni arriving in Belgium and Denis Dragus heading to Italy on loan. Standard Liege signed Everton’s Isaac Price in the summer, a deal that took place before any 777 takeover bid was made.
Brighton & Hove Albion owner Tony Bloom has a significant interest in both the Seagulls and Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise, with the links having seen several players move between the two sides, including the likes of Simon Adingra, Deniz Undav and Kaoru Mitoma. Under the proposals to be discussed that kind of talent pipeline may be closed off.
Any ban would be on an interim basis at first, with the vote requiring at least a two-thirds majority for new regulation to come into force.
There is currently no regulation in place to stop clubs selling players in one transfer window only for the team they join agreeing to a loan or permanent move heading back to the division with club under the same ownership banner as long as it falls within what the confines of what is deemed to be fair market value.
The Athletic reported that it is the will of some Premier League clubs to see the temporary measure on loan deals extended to include permanent transfers, with the rule in place for at least two transfer windows.
While unlikely to be a move that knocks 777 Partners out of sync in terms of their plans for Everton, who were landed with a 10-point deduction on Friday after an independent commission upheld the Premier League's charge against the club over breaching profit and sustainability rules, it is one avenue that has previously been utilised with their other clubs, and one that other Premier League teams have sought to exploit, that could well be closed off for good.
