As the month of May came to a close, so to did Everton’s 70th consecutive season in the top flight of English football. Luckily for all Evertonians, it was a dull final 3 matches with no danger of relegation looming over the fans and players alike. Everton had taken care of business in April, making the final 3 outings just a nice outing to watch some football. The first match in May was the 1-1 draw away at Luton town, a match that had been moved so that it could be on Tv. A move that was no doubt on purpose with the hopes that it would be a big drama filled match with relegation hanging in the balance for both clubs. It was still a vital match for Luton Town, but Everton were just there to continue an impressive run of unbeaten form. It was a mostly drab affair Everton scored on a Dominic Calvert-Lewin penalty and it looked like they might be on their way to a 4th consecutive win. That was not the case. Less than 10 minutes later, Elijah Adebayo bullied Ashley Young and put Luton Town back on level terms. Luton did end up pushing hard for a winner, and if it weren’t for Jarred Branthwaite blocking a last minute attempt Luton would have won the match. The Penultimate match of the season was the last at Goodison for the season. That match wasn’t really as important, Everton beat already relegated Sheffield United 1-0. What was important about this match was the thank you all the players and staff gave to the supporters after it was over. The players and supporters had been through another rough season, but once again everyone did their jobs and safety was achieved. It was heartwarming watching the players and coaches circle the ground. You could look in the faces of the players and see just how special this place is to them. Whether it was their first season in Blue, like Youssef Chermiti, or Seamus Coleman taking in what might be his last moments in an Everton kit, you could tell it meant the world to them to have the support of those supporters. Then came the final match at Arsenal. Everton had a chance to perhaps play spoiler to Arsenal who were chasing Manchester City for the premier league title. Everton took an unlikely lead from an unlikely source. Idrissa Gueye, who had been in a rich vein of scoring, took a free kick and with the help of a big deflection off the wall put Everton ahead. It was his 4th goal of the season the most he’s ever scored in any season. Arsenal scored an equalizer just before half time. In the second half it looked like the match was destined for a 1-1 ending. However, it wouldn’t be an appropriate end to a season without one more VAR disaster. Arsenal scored a goal on a brilliant counter attack with just 1 minute left in the match. In the build up to the goal there was a check for a hand ball. Despite being sent to the pitch side monitor to see a clear handball by Gabriel Jesus that should of ruled out the goal, Michael Oliver decided that he was certainly right and gave the goal to Arsenal. Just one more jab from VAR to end a fun sun soaked outing in London.
Now that there are no more football matches to be played the real hard work begins for Everton. The most important order of business is getting the new owners of the club sorted right away. As things stand, Moshiri has decided to honor the exclusivity agreement made with 777 that expires at the end of May. Despite this, there is no way that 777 finds the cash to complete a take over of Everton football club. This is good news though, as it seems like there is a new article daily about the numerous failings of the US based ownership group with other clubs they own across the world. Not to mention the current shake ups happening at the board level for 777. While it’s a good thing 777 won’t be the new owners, new suitors will need to step forward quickly with the amount of debt Everton have incurred to finish the new stadium and keep up with day to day operation of the club. One man has emerged as a potential favorite to be the new owner in the past few weeks. John Textor, who is a minority owner at Crystal Palace has shown great interest in selling his shares at palace and being the main man at Everton. It’s unclear whether or not Textor would need backing from others to be able to buy the majority shares at Everton, but it’s very clear that he wants the club. There have been reports that Textor is not the only interested party, but to this point he’s been the only one who has publicly made his intentions known. Everton will want to get a new owner in as quickly as possible so they can have as much of a clear picture as possible for money potentially available for transfers.
Speaking of transfers, there are a lot of moving parts in the Everton squad this summer. First things first, players who are now leaving the club after their contracts have now expired. Andre Gomes, and Andy Lonergan will both leave the club. Lonergan only made one appearances for Everton and it was in the Sydney Super cup which took place during the world cup in Qatar. Andre Gomes has been at the club since the 2018/19 season. He made 114 appearances for the club across all competitions. He didn’t have the impact that many thought he would after his initial loan season. Maybe things would of been different if it weren’t for his unfortunate leg break, but who knows. When he was on, he was an excellent footballer. Two other Everton players who are out of contract have been offered a new deal. Seamus Coleman is the first. It’s still unclear if he will sign his new deal, if he did, it would likely be his last season playing. It would be a massive boost for Everton as well, as right back is still a bit of a question mark for the blues. Second player offered a new contract is Ashley Young. Young had a bit of an up and down season, but quite frankly Everton need bodies, and Young’s versatility helps Sean Dyche a lot. It does appear that Young is going to sign his new contract. Lastly a player who still has one year left on his deal Dominic Calver-Lewin. There has been plenty of debate on either sell him, or giving him a new deal. The arguments are sound on both sides. As of 30/05 it’s been reported that Everton are in talks to offer their number 9 a new deal. New contracts aren’t the only pressing squad news for Everton though. Everton will need to make a sale by the end of June to avoid another breach of PSR. At lesast that is what has been reported in the past. There are also contradicting reports that this might not be the case. There has been plenty of speculation by fans and media alike on which player might be sold to raise some funds. The two player linked most with a move away are Jarred Branthwaite, and Amadou Onana. There have been numerous rumors for both players spanning across Europe. It’s been reported that Everton would prefer to sell Onana and keep Branthwaite around for at least 1 more season. It has been stated that Everton aren’t going to be listening to low ball offers for any of their players, which is music to supporters ears. It’s too early to speculate who might get sold this summer, but it’s a safe bet to say there will be less high end talent in the squad at the start of next season.
It is going to be an incredibly busy month of June for Everton, and an important setting of the tone for the rest of the summer. It’s imperative that Everton get their most pressing business done early on in the month so work can begin throughout the rest of the club. As the exclusive negotiating contract ends with 777, and fit and proper potential owners line up to purchase Everton, things begin to look a bit brighter. One more season at Goodison park, a state of the art new ground owned by the club, coming out of a seemingly never ending cycle of no money to spend and on the brink of multiple charges for breaking unrealistic PSR rules. Next season might be another struggle, but maybe now Evertonians can start to look into the near future with renewed optimism.
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