21 September 2023 , 19:04
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Everton boss Sean Dyche has revealed that his future at the club was not a topic of discussion when he met with prospective new owners 777 Partners.
It was announced last week that Farhad Moshiri had agreed a deal to sell Everton to the American investment firm, which also owns stakes in a number of other clubs including Standard Liege, Red Star FC, Hertha Berlin, Genoa, Vasco da Gama and Melbourne Victory. 777's co-founder and managing partner Josh Wander travelled to Everton's training ground this week and met with both Dyche and director of football Kevin Thelwell.
With the Toffees currently in the relegation zone after picking up just one point from their first five Premier League games this season, there have been suggestions that Dyche's future is in doubt. However, when asked about his meeting with Wander, Dyche explained the talks were "very casual" as there is still "a long way to go" until the takeover is finalised.
"No, nothing like that," Dyche said when asked if his future was discussed. "It's very casual at this stage. They made it clear to us who were in the meeting that the deal has got a long way to go to get to its finality.
"Most of it was very casual to be honest. It was just a feel of what I've learned in my time here – and others were involved in the chat of course – but on the football side of things, a feel of what I've learned here, the challenges ahead and stuff like that but it was a very casual meeting.
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"At this early stage they were very honest and promoted the thought that it's still not done and it's going to take time to get the deal done in the sense of all the fit and proper tests and all that sort of stuff. I think they were more getting a feel of what our thoughts were and what my thoughts were since coming into the club rather than giving us any directives on what they're planning, it was more absorbing some of the feel of the club and getting a feel of it.
"It was a broad brush sort of thing, it wasn't the minutiae of it. We were talking of the feel of it, the past meets the present and the future and how to bring it all together and forwards and the challenge that we had, the market and the finances and all the things that have been going on since I've been here."
There are concerns over whether Wander will pass the Premier League's owners' and directors' test, with 777 and sister company SuttonPark accused of a number of instances of fraud, offering illegal loans and failing to pay bills totalling hundreds of thousands of dollars. And Dyche acknowledged the "mixed feeling" among fans about the potential takeover.
Josh Wander, the co-founder and managing partner of 777 Partners, met with Dyche at Everton's training ground (BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images)"It's not really my concern," he added. "I can't affect it anyway. The idea is, I'm sure by putting the wheels in motion, I think they're intent on getting things done but there are all the regulatory issues and regulatory challenges and I don't know all the details of that, I'm sure it does take a bit of time.
"I think there will probably be a mixed feeling (among supporters) because there were fans who were questioning the last regime heavily, obviously last season and they didn't want them at the games and stuff. Then there's a new idea possibly coming in so I think there's a mixed bag.
"I think fans will be looking at it with 'which way is it going to swing, which way is it going to turn, are they going to get the deal done and take it on?' and the noise that would create, hopefully very positive noise but we’ll have to wait and see. At this stage it creates a hullabaloo over kind of nothing at times.
"At the end of the day it's a business transaction. But as we know in football, these business transactions go into the public domain very quickly."