‘As I understand it…’ – Keith Wyness suggests the outcome of Everton and Burnley legal dispute
Everton and Burnley have been backed to come to a settlement out of court regarding their legal row.
The situation surrounds the Merseyside club’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR) breaches between 2021 and 2023.
Burnley are suing Everton for £50million, after finishing four points adrift of the Toffees in the 2021-22 campaign and subsequently suffering relegation from the Premier League.
Everton were eventually handed a six-point deduction in 2023-24, but Burnley are arguing that they would have had an opportunity to stay up two years before, had the penalty been awarded at the time.
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes that the two clubs will eventually come to an agreement out of court.
Everton to pay Burnley £4m maximum
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness insisted that Burnley are only likely to receive a £4m settlement from Everton, despite currently demanding over 12 times that amount.
The Clarets’ revenue went from £104.9m in 2021-22 to £47.8m in 2022-23, as a result of missing out on Premier League TV money after relegation.
Wyness added that there are so many intangible factors that resulted in Burnley’s drop down to the Championship, and that the blame can’t be based solely on Everton’s PSR breach.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “Now, when we look at the loss Burnley had, as I understand it, there was a 50 per cent reduction clause in their player contracts. So they were already able to mitigate a lot of the loss from going down from the Premier League.
“Plus, they had parachute payments. I think you’ll see they also had extra games in the Championship compared to the Premier League, so there’d been more revenue coming in.
“Now, I think this will get settled out of court. There may be a small payment made, which will be kept private by Burnley. I don’t think it will be much more than £3m or £4m maximum. In fact, the whole thing may just go away.
“How can you say that Burnley’s sacking of Sean Dyche that season didn’t really make the biggest difference to Burnley’s bad form? How can you say it wasn’t a winger or a striker that missed some chances, or a centre-half who let some goals in? How can you say those weren’t the reasons?
“There are so many intangible factors that are so complex, just to tie it into one fact of a six-point deduction, and a four point difference over Burnley. It makes it very hard for me to understand how this case can really be effective.”
Everton could be forced to complete free agent signing
Meanwhile, Everton will be forced into the free transfer market if they get any more injuries at full-back, sources have told Football Insider.
The Toffees are light on both flanks after failing to suitably reinforce during the summer transfer window, with Vitalii Mykolenko’s injury amplyifying the situation.
Jake O’Brien and James Garner are filling in well for Everton currently and have put in a number of good performances despite being out of position.
However, sources say that if David Moyes’ side are hit by more injuries or suspensions, then they may be forced to explore the free transfer options.
For more Everton and exclusive news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.