Everton takeover: Wyness drops ‘worrying’ claim on ‘fan favourite’ bid
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness has suggested AJ Bell and George Downing’s bid for the club may not be the “right solution” – despite being the “fan favourite”.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, the 66-year-old – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – suggested he is “worried” about the pair, alongside MSD Partners, bringing “more debt” to the club.
It has been widely reported that Bell and Downing, in conjunction with tech tycoon Michael Dell’s investment outfit MSD Partners, have submitted a bid for Everton.
The pair, who are lifelong Evertonians, have already invested a significant sum into the club.
Football Insider revealed on Friday (14 June) that Vatche Manoukian is currently leading the bidding race to buy Everton after submitting a £400million offer for the club.
It could be at least a couple of months before any of interested party can complete a takeover as they will have to enter an exclusivity agreement and pass the Premier League’s owners’ and directors’ test.
Wyness has ‘worry’ about Everton ‘fan favourite’ to seal takeover
Wyness told Football Insider‘s Insider Track podcast: “The bid emerging as the fan favourite is AJ Bell and George Downing.
“Supposedly, they are backed by MSD – the Dell company.
“I have doubts as to whether that is backed by Michael Dell in terms of support.
“They can certainly support with finances, I’ve dealt with them before. They’re very tough in the way they extract their terms for loaning the money.
“It could be a good backing, and having local Evertonians in charge means the fans will welcome that.
“But from my point of view, I’d worry that it would just bring more debt to the club.
“It seems they are the favoured option, because they are Blues.
“And that isn’t always the right solution, in my opinion. They’ve already got serious money invested with the club, so separating their bid could be an interesting one to follow.
“There are a lot of rumours that they have progressed the furthest with Moshiri so far.”
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