Patterson is reportedly of interest to Arsenal in addition to Championship teams Leeds United and Leicester City. This season, Scottish champions Celtic have also kept a close eye on the young player as they search for a successor to the retiring Joe Hart.
Patterson, who has been valued between £10 million and £20 million by different sources, inked a new five-year contract in September of last year.
After 777 Partners’ protracted takeover appeared to collapse, there has been discussion over whether administration will inevitably occur before a different buyer steps in.
Even while Everton maintains that it is not close, the Telegraph report concedes that it is a possibility and notes that the team is capable of charting a different trajectory.
The Toffees will then need to “finesse” the loan market to make sure their team can avoid relegation the following season. Farhad Moshiri is said to have suggested he would write off his “eye-watering” £450 million loan to the club. Star players like Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin will also need to be sold.
777 Partners takeover failure leaves Everton future unsolved
Administration would be a painful prospect for all involved at Everton but under the weight of the debt burden at the club it has been suggested that, whether it be MSP Sports Capital or another as-yet unnamed buyer who is to fill the void left by 777’s failure to gain takeover approval, it could happen.
Now that 777’s loans have enabled the Toffees to continue funding their operations until the upcoming transfer window, Moshiri and the club’s principal creditors ought to be able to avert that scenario if they can reach a reasonable understanding.
But that is easier said than done, and in the wake of years of mismanagement of the club leading it to this point it hardly seems inexcusable for some to not be entirely confident of everyone playing ball.
It is unlikely to be easy sailing during the summer, even though it now appears like the club are possibly heading in the right route rather than waiting on a 777 takeover, which was apparently destined never to materialize.
Everton is expected to move into the stadium at the beginning of the next season, with the stadium expected to be completed by the end of this year. Given how close the club has come, it is imperative that they get there with less of a mess than they now are.
Sean Dyche beat all odds to secure Premier League safety again this season, but the fact that administration is even under scrutiny indicates just how bad things have gotten. With 777 no longer in the picture as potential owners, if not major creditors, there is no more time to waste in resolving the current problems.
