John Textor could have to instantly spend £400m if he takes over at Everton

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Everton need to finish up their takeover as soon as possible, but they remained tied to John Textor for now.

The frustrating thing remains that he, whilst a very attractive owner on paper, still has so many hurdles he must overcome before achieving this goal.

Whilst he works away in the background, the Toffees are floundering without an owner, leaving Farhad Moshiri as a custodian without care for the club.

And whilst many on Merseyside have grown to dislike the Iranian, the grass might not always be greener…

Finance expert on John Textor’s Everton takeover

Speaking exclusively to Everton.News, football finance expert Adam Wiliams provided us the lowdown on John Textor and his capabilities as a football owner. He first touched on the debt he would inherit: ‘I think there are two ways of assessing Textor’s suitability as an owner.

‘Firstly, there is the financial perspective and whether he is able to meet the cash needs of the club.

‘Everton’s debts total somewhere north of £650m.

‘The £200m loan from Dan Friedkin is due for repayment immediately after the takeover is complete, but I suspect he would renegotiate on that. I don’t think that’s the hurdle that some reports make it out to be.

‘Then, there are the complications surrounding the legal situation with the loan from 777 Partners, which has now been taken over by A-CAP.

‘Ideally, a new owner needs to settle that debt in full, which means Textor needs to have the liquidity to do so.

‘Textor has historically relied on debt to fund football purchases, which doesn’t really bode well. The one thing Everton do not need is a debt-financed takeover.

‘Yes, a prerequisite to buying Everton would be the sale of his Crystal Palace shares, which of course would give him a big chunk – likely £150-200m. But most analysis suggests the club probably need to reduce debt by up to £400m.’

Fortunately, as Williams continues, it seems Textor has a plan: ’Reports in the last few days giving some more detail about Textor’s plans to list his Eagle Football Group on the New York Stock Exchange suggest he has investors ready to put in a further £150m in equity.

‘So you’re getting towards the right number there already, plus he reportedly wants to raise about £380m from the NYSE listing itself.

‘So I think the numbers add up, as long as the reports are accurate and he uses the extra capital to finance the deal rather than taking on even more debt.

‘But secondly, you have to consider how he would run the club going forward. And to do that, you look elsewhere in his football empire.

‘He is the majority owner of a group that owns stakes in five clubs worldwide.

‘Lyon have returned to the Champions League under his stewardship. Botafogo nearly won the Brazilian league title last season but collapsed in the closing throes of the campaign. They’re in 2nd place as it stands and the opinion among supporters is, I believe, very positive towards him.

‘The same can’t be said at Molenbeek, Eagle Football’s outpost in Belgium. They were relegated last season amid protests from fans that led to matches being halted.

‘Those scenes were emblematic of the drama that we’ve witnessed at all of his clubs under his ownership.

‘He has sparked a civil war in Brazilian football with allegations of corruption. There was also a very high-profile feud with Lyon’s president, who happens to be club legend Jean-Michael Aulas, that saw him step down. There have been FFP issues with Lyon too.

‘You only have to look at the tenor of his statements recently to see that this guy sees himself as a disruptor.

‘We’ve got a few of those characters in the Premier League at the moment, and it can work. But is it what Everton, who are crying out for a safe pair of hands, need? I’m not sure.’

Ironically enough, this slight condemnation comes after Textor may have just helped fix Everton’s transfer problems.

What’s the latest on John Textor’s Everton takeover?

Textor’s Everton takeover hasn’t really made much progress on paper, but the American himself is making rather large and important moves in the background that will help him smooth the process.

After all, it is still well-documented that he must sell his Crystal Palace shares before he can do anything, and only then will the true issues at the club reveal themselves.

As Williams notes, a mountain of debt is just the first problem he faces.

Then, Sean Dyche‘s squad still needs a huge overhaul, and the entire culture at the club needs changing too.

Only once he has ended his affiliation with the Eagles will we see any proper movement on this Everton deal, as for now he simply remains locked in an exclusivity agreement.