Spurs want to include Gordon in double deal

Alan Myers is reporting that Spurs are trying to buy Richarlison AND Gordon.

According to SSN, Spurs are interested in Richarlison and Anthony Gordon now!

Just saw that, Iain, and Myers usually a good source too.

My immediate thought is that Gordon has been added to the story to try and soften the blow of losing Richie. kind of thing BPB would release, so the statement that follows "we would never sell our own, and Gordon is our own" gets a positive spin, instead of "Everton lose talisman Richarlison".

Surely we wouldn't consider selling both? Surely Spurs wouldn't believe for a second we would, and even if we did that they could afford them?! It's a very bizarre one.

Whilst Gordon isn't yet at the height of Ricarlison, for me it'd take £40m-£50m to even consider selling him. and even then I'd be fuming if we did.

Myers has confirmed Spurs are trying to get Richarlison and Gordon. if that goes through, it would be incredibly worrying. Who among us would be able to say we were not now a busted flush, because in the normal course of events why the fuck would you ever agree to that.

Would you swap Richarlison and Gordon for Dennis, Zinchenko and Gallagher?

I'm currently spitting feathers at the "Gordon and Richarlison package", and not just because of the utterly insulting £80m figure being attached.

I appreciate that last season was baaaaad, and spurs have had a better few years since Pochetino turned them around, BUT what an utterly shite message (even the rumour!) sends out if we are selling our best players to a team who have one ONE league cup trophy in 30 years, and no league title in 60 (just two titles in total!)!!

I'm now strongly of the opinion we should be saying "we are NOT selling ANYONE to a club we consider a rival" and utterly refuse to do business with them. I'd honestly rather see us hit with FFP and the points deduction (albeit I don't believe that can be done with Covid and war being Force Majeure) than suffer this ongoing humiliation.

Grow a pair of bollocks Everton. Liverpool got £125m for Cuntinho, and Villa got £100m for Jack Graelish. If Spurs want the two players we have that are on a par with those two, that is the kind of figures that it should now take.

Fuming.

I can't see Gordon getting in the Spurs side. He's not anywhere near the level they are at now. They might even push Man City and the Liverpool close next season, and also are in the Champions League.

He'd spend most of the time on the bench. Seems unlikely this will happen.

Regards the Gordon links with Spurs, I think this is a nod to our current FFP position & the need for us to do some sale business before 30th June. A sale of an academy graduate looks very good on a balance sheet,t ie. outgoings NIL, incomings Millions.

Hope it’s all bollocks as it doesn’t send a good message, however if it gives the manager a bit of leeway to get the players in he wants, who knows.

Typical Levy, he manages to get into the CL once and acts like he is founding a dynasty. If Conte is there at the end of the season I will be amazed.

He probably thinks because he did us a favour with Alli - theoretically - that we will sell him Gordon for a glass of water. If they have £125 million then let’s talk.

Spurs and the fans are the most deluded bunch in the premier league.

If Spurs sign Richarlison, and he proves to be as good as most Evertonians think he his, then they could indeed push Man City, Chelsea and Liverpool, Iain. They won at City, and drew at Anfield, towards the end of last season, which is possibly a good barometer, especially now they seem to be really strengthening their squad.

Bill to Levy: “we’ve GOT to sell this week my mate pal buddy, need to submit a balance sheet next week or we are in shit”

Levy to Bill: “Cool, throw in Gordon for an extra £15m on what you want for Richarlison and we’ll do a deal… that’s now our final offer this week”.

Depressing.

If we sell Richarlison and especially Anthony Gordon to Spurs then it will be for a deal that only suits them and Levy. This once great club is a total shambles, spunking half a billion on players no one else wants thinking they will turn out good for us.

No doubt we’ll end up with Alli and Winks in midfield, 2 championship players at best. Well in 12 months time they can shown their true level cos that’s where we’re going as long as this current regime runs the club.

Gary, that about sums it up! As you say depressing.

Imagine selling these two for say £80-90m, and getting them to throw in Bergwijn. Then buying Dennis, Zinchenko, Gallagher and also getting Eriksen. All purely speculation of course. I can't see Gordon actually wanting to go. After just breaking into our team, it would arguably be a step backwards for him just being a squad player at Spurs.

Chill out, selling Gordon together with Richarlison is not going to happen.

Levy obviously tried to offset the transfer fee we want for Richarlison by tying in the balance of Alli’s transfer fee and including Winks in the deal.

When that was rejected, he has tried to add in Gordon for the fee we want for Richarlison. He will fanny about with these silly games, then someone like Chelsea will come and offer what we want in cash.

Gordon interview in January

“I’ve never wanted to leave Everton. It’s my home, I’m a Scouser and a home bird as well

There’s no way we would want to sell Anthony Gordon. If there is any significant conversation being had about his departure - which I doubt - then we are under even more financial duress than we hoped.

We should tell Spurs where to go, value Richarlison at £65M+ and do a deal with Chelsea, the arrogance of Levy & Conte.

The Bobble has spoken. No contact from anyone regarding Gordon.

Who knows what is really going on behind the scenes.

To let Gordon, Richarlison or Godfrey go (if we believe Sky sports) would be tantamount to soccer suicide for Everton at the present time.

These three in particular have the potential to get Everton back in the big time unless we bring in class replacements.

I know certain policies are in place and financially Everton may need the cash but the rumors of new investors and a new stadium are useless without a really comp to go with it.

Whomever Everton may have in mind to replace Richarlison should he go then they will have to pay top dollar.

We don't want anyone like Tosun, Niasse or Rondon!!!

This has got to be the most bizarre rumour I've heard for a long time.

Why would Spurs even need Gordon right now and why would we sell him when we probably need to see him for another season or two and find out if he can develop parts of his game?

If Gordon does improve in the next two seasons, I mean by adding consistent end product and 8 or 9 goals to his game then we can sell him for £60 million.

How much would this so-called Spurs double bid package be exactly?
I'll bet it wouldn't amount to more than £70 million.

No thanks, I'd be amazed if that comes off.

It seems like silly season has begun in the transfer window.

This makes absolutely no sense on any level. Gordon would be a long way down the pecking order at Spurs and would be basically a bench warmer.

At Everton he is a guaranteed starter, hugely well thought of by the fans and can only increase in value. If he continues with last season's progress he could be an outside bet for the World Cup squad, why would he throw any of that away.

The only downside is his wages, he is reputedly only on £10k a week, having signed a 5 year deal in 2020. Perhaps time for a rise given that he outperformed the majority of our top earners last season.

Unless Spurs offer something like £100 plus million then this won't happen.

We should still be holding out for £70 million for Richarlison at the very minimum.

This reminds me of our Alan Smith bid in 2004, pure bullshit lol.

What a load of rubbish. Gordon won't be going anywhere.

Give the boy a pay rise, after his recent performances he fully deserves one. Oh and tell Levy to do one.

Just tell Spurs £70M for Richarlison no offers and don't bother contacting us unless you match that or just fuck right off.

I see where Teamtalk are saying it will take a massive bid of £75m to prise Richarlison and Gordon from Everton! Are they having a laugh with their valuation, and think we're desperate.

I don't believe the club or Lampard would sell Gordon, but if Levy & Conte want to include player swaps, maybe we should play them at their own game and look for a straight swap for Kane and Bissouma.

Bill would never let Everton sell our best and most exciting young player!

If there is an ounce of truth in this that dirty shyster Levy has some fucking brass neck on him. I’ll take your two best players and swap you four we don’t want. Oh that sounds like a good deal. Absolute piece of work him. Even selling the shithouses Richarlison is a risk because I don’t trust this board to reinvest the money. If I was a player I wouldn’t go near this lot. They’ve won nothing forever and only get to dine at the top table because the media says so. We all hate the RS but at least they win stuff.

Rumours this is nonsense.

Biggest load of crap I've ever heard.

Brian (22) and even if he did, he’d never sell anyone on the cheap!!

Brian #22, brilliant.

Now saying they want Pickford for £30M - any chance we could get a couple of quid for Kenwright if we ever decide to deal with this shower?

Oh, come on, lads, we should always be able to do a deal say, £250M cash, Dele, Winks and one other thrown in and a confession from Son that he deliberately went after Gomes.

Yeah, seems fairly reasonable.

The rumors are rife as they usually are at this time of year so it is best to take everything with a grain of salt until a transfer is completed.

Despite the awful season thankfully just past Everton have some exceptional talent. Frank, to a certain degree managed to turn things around at a vital time and I am sure he doesn't want to see some of his best players leave right now or any time for that matter.

Sure, we still have some underachievers who should be released
but we have to cultivate the hardcore talent we have and build around it.

The media especially Sky speculate on so much trash it's hard not to laugh sometimes.

Why would a team who have qualified for the Champions League be buying players from a team that survived relegation by the skin of its teeth?

Mind, I suppose they are only interested in our 2 best players, maybe they could also throw in Jordan Pickford, and offer us Winks, Moura and Loris and £25 million.

I know it's silly season but really?

What a depressing rumour.

Gordon, along with Mykolenko, Pickford and hopefully Branthwaite and Patterson, is one of only a few current players I can see being in our First XI in 3 to 5 years time.

Hopefully utter nonsense.

Can't someone on Everton's board just phone Levy. Tell him to fuck right off and try poncing some players off another club.

The million-dollar question (or rather multimillion-dollar question) is whether we have to have a player sale before the end of June to comply with an agreement made with the Premier League?

Other than that, it makes no sense to let Richarlison go for not much more than we paid for him and have to give Watford part of the proceeds.

I've just seen a clip on the Sky Sports app of Richalison's greatest Premier League goals. Everton should send it to Levy at Spurs and say "Let's start at £80 million" because we are going to miss this player and his goals.

Can't see this happening at all.

My first reaction was what Gary @3 said, a bit of psychology going on to appease the sale of Richarlison at what will look like a knockdown price.

I'm still sick in my stomach because a) I don't want him to go and b) if he does, not to Spurs. We'll end up getting a bag of nuts and Harry Winks.

If we sell Gordon for something daft like £25M, I'm done. What is the point?

Yes, we need to invest in the squad, but you can only just about sign a Championship prospect for that money now. We should be building the team around him.

Knowing this club, we've probably lined up Rooney now he's free to replace them both and soften the blow!

Agree the fee, have Anthony politely demand Neymar-level wages and if they don't get their end of the joke at that point also demand full image rights. Get off.

Laughable. It really is. Not way on both. Richarlison is never leaving our club for a similar-sized club. Gordon isn't leaving to go anywhere.

It's in Spurs interest to jerk us around and delay the sale of Richarlison. We need to sell to buy. Adding Gordon to the mix, if it's true, even if it's not serious, drags out the process. Meanwhile the transfer clock is ticking.

I rate Gordon, but there's no way a club like Spurs are interested in him. Maybe if he continues to progress.

I hadn't seen this before, but Spurs have Grétar Steinsson as their new performance director. He was previously our chief scout under Brands, but departed in January after Brands lost his power struggle with Benitez.

Interesting article in The Athletic:

Gretar Steinsson has ‘an utter contempt for bullshit', but what else will Fabio Paratici's new No 2 bring to Spurs?

Danny (48) - The only part of this that feels feasible is that Spurs would be interested in Anthony Gordon. He is one of the top young English talents, and has recently become a regular with the England Under 21s. His current trajectory is really really good, and has the talent to get to the very top.

Two things:
1. It's a load of shite.
2. Never deal with Spurs. Ever.

DON'T DO ANY DEALS WITH LEVY!!
Alli is crap. Winks is even worse! Maurino and Conte wouldn't play him because he is shite. Only Nino tried to integrate him into the team and we all know how it went! No way. Not even on loan. There are many decent midfielders in other leagues around the world which are way better and cost less! Only if our recruitment department did the job they are being paid for properly!

Knowing Everton, we'll probably throw in Pickford and Calvert-Lewin in return for Winks, Moura, Ledley King and £5Mm.

“Other football clubs always ask me, what would Everton do?”

If we sell Gordon we may as well melt down the Dixie Dean statue and start supporting Liverpool because it's that ludicrous. He is one of us, he bleeds blue blood.

If it happens, the club can fucking do one for me. Just the thought of Kenwright considering it is making me angry…

Danny Bailey,

Spurs have one League Cup in 30 years, and no league titles in 60 years. Yes, they have a better team right now and we just had a very bad season after hiring a fat gobshite, but I wish our fans would stop belittling our club and players.

Be great if both go it might finally register what lower mid table make weights we are resolving a lot of angst among those who believe otherwise.

Without a buy out of Newcastle proportions this is how it will always be best get used to it.

Apologies for the expletive John Senior, but Tottenham a big club? My arse.

The 2020s version of 1990s Newcastle. Big stadium and favoured by Sky.

I hope there is nothing in this. I can see the immediate attraction of Champion's League football from the player's perspective and the club cashing in on an asset that in relative terms has cost us little.

But just No.

Listen to this. Latest reports suggesting that AC Milan and Juventus have both contacted Everton regarding Richrlison! That would be us fans' preference too. We should not sell him to any English club.

Danny,

“but Tottenham a big club my arse”

I’m sure even John Snr. will let that one pass.

Spurs are miles ahead of us and have been since Big Joe beat them with Amokachi and Co. Their signings during the Premier League era have been at the top end of the market whilst we dabbled in the bargain basement.

Champions League finalist, always there or thereabouts at the top end of the table, employ top drawer managers and reside in London with a fabulous new stadium.

By all modern criteria, they are a much bigger club than us for any player having to make the choice. Theirs is the trajectory we should have been on when we were "bigger" than them… too late now.

All I meant was that Conte doesn't want a prospect with no end product. None of the current top six will. He's ours, we can relax.

I was discussing the Richarlison situation with a Spurs friend of mine. The first thing he did was chuckle, “Please take Winks of us – just like you did with Alli. We will happily let Levy negotiate and trust him to take Richarlison to play in the front 3.”

He acknowledged both sides were on equal footing when Moyes managed us, I think they also had a couple of stints in the Champions League under Redknapp as well.

I had to agree with him, they have moved forward as a club, with regular Champions League football and an amazing new stadium. They are much bigger than Everton now.

We shouldn't fool ourselves, we've not finished once above Arsenal in the Premier League era and only finished I think once above Spurs in 15 years. We don't even look remotely like making up any ground on them in the near future on a footballing front.

Barry, unfortunately 100% correct.

Danny, you are asking 100% correct.

Our history really is history, but Everton are no longer a force. The stadium may bring better fortunes and improve our image in the longer run. I still feel this is why we needed Kings Dock to happen, as we may have not lost so much ground on the others.

Regarding this supposedly great Tottenham team, take out Kane and Son and they're mediocre.

Good chance it's all speculation typical of the period regarding Gordon. Even when the chosen six aren't flexing, the media sycophants seem to do it for them.

However, I'd say get used to it with Anthony Gordon. A finished product he is not, but blessed with a rare natural ability to receive, control, accelerate and scarper with the ball, he certainly is – and you can't train that in to that level.

As he progresses, the watching eyes will narrow and focus, they're already aware.

Lloris, Kulusevski, Højbjerg and Romero are good players.

You could argue taking out Richarlison and Pickford and Everton are Championship.

Hi Danny [57] & Tony [59],

I don't class that word as an expletive, there are far worse words that appear to be regularly allowed on this site.

I don't regard myself as a "Snowflake" which has been suggested once twice, but I believe that there is a time and place for that kind of language, and I have probably heard all the words, and I even know what some of them mean.

To illustrate that I can see the amusing side of risque' comments, I once had the good fortune of meeting Alex Parker in one of the Hall of Fame dinners at the Adelphi, and when I praised him on his sliding tackles, his reply was "I was faster on my arse than I was on my feet”. I take pleasure in relating that incident because I find that it invariably brings a smile to the recipient's face.

Barry #60,

Spurs have hunted players with Champions League quality and potential but within their means. It's been hit and miss but they've had Modric, Bale, Son etc as a result. This has seen them have a few Champions League adventures and some brilliant football.

Only Martinez has had the vision and belief to operate that way for Everton.

I'd love to see some ambitious signings this summer to follow the safe and sensible (but not brilliant) Tarkowski. Not ambitious in price, we cannot do that, but ambitious in terms of the potential.

Alan J. @ 35; Of course Son went for Gomes, he's done it before and since. He's a snidey little shite and would have fitted right in with those other snidely little shites, Giles and Bremner at Revie's Leeds (dirty, dirty Leeds).

Levy is the managerial / negotiating version... though you have to grudgingly admit he's very good at it.

But we'd never fall for it would we… would we?

I'll love it if Chelsea come in and gazump them on their Richarlison bid.

Spurs a big club… pissed myself laughing at that!

Big clubs win league titles – Spurs don't do league titles. I doubt very much there is less than about 2% of TW contributors who remember the last time Spurs won their second league title.

If Richarlison wants to go there, then fine, there's nothing we as fans can do about it, but there is not a cat in hell's chance Anthony Gordon will want to go there.

Richarlison wants Champions League football, and we can't blame him for that, but let me tell him, and everyone on here, it will not be every season Spurs qualify for the Champions League. How they've done it in the first place baffles me.

If Richarlison wants almost certain guaranteed Champions League football every season, then Chelsea is his best bet, or Real Madrid, but Spurs… 😂😂😂😂.

As Danny says, Spurs a big club… My Arse!!

This rumour really bothers me. I don't want Richarlison to leave but Anthony Gordon is one of the reasons I could accept it if it happens. Anthony Gordon, one way or another is going all the way to the top for the reasons Will Mahon stated @65:-

“ But blessed with a rare natural ability to receive, control, accelerate and scarper with the ball, he certainly is – and you can't train that in to that level.”

We just cannot sell Anthony Gordon if we are to progress from where we found ourselves at the end of last season.

Paranoid, I am… but It is not the first time Spurs have been willing to disrupt us. Remember Pienaar!

Ba hahaha ha..

We can throw in Dom, Tom, Dick and Dave for free as well.. and don't forget the special charity "BK" mug.

That Winks must be a very special player. ;)

Rob@71

I can remember them winning their last league title in 1961 – 2 years before the first of our four postwar titles.

We know Richarlison wants to play in the Champions League but, if Spurs, as is rumoured, is the destination of his choice, he is showing a surprising lack of ambition.

If I were the Everton Chairman, I would tell Spurs and Chelsea:

“I want a written offer on the table, on 1 July, for Richarlison. An offer north of £60m, rising to £70m based on certain criteria being met. No trading for Winks et al. Straight money. If no offer is made by midnight on the 1st, any deal is off and Richarlison is staying put.”

If they want Rondon, they can have him for £20M, with £10M due after 10 games and the rest after 20 games. If they tell us to piss off, just reply, “You started it!”

Gordon is not for sale – simple as.

Grow a pair, Blues. Easy EFC is dead. Welcome to hardball Goodison. Home of the Blue Meanies!!!!

COYBs.

I meant to mention if you actually witnessed Spurs winning 2 titles, as a Spurs fan, you would have to be about 77 years of age. 1951 and 1961.

Big club – do me a favour. They can do the Talk but never the Walk. Their mascot is all cock and no balls.

For all the venom directed against Levy, I wish we had him negotiating our deals!

It will be sad to see the two of them go but we can do a lot of rebuilding with the £120M we let them go for!!!

Derek (#69);

Agreed but mostly said in almost jest and, if he comes out and says so, then we can ask why his red card was rescinded which is just adding to the growing list – albeit our Board (bored?) should have asked these questions some time ago.

Did they even support Frank for his honest comments and then ask why this hasn't been applied across the board which would also include Niasse off the high board. And now we are all probably bored.

Levy is ruthless, Alan, and that isn't a criticism. He's got Tottenham into a good place consistently, but never broke the glass ceiling of winning the title. So a Chairman version of David Moyes.

On Anthony Gordon, I don't think Tottenham would be a good move for him. He would be better staying at Everton, where I hope he wants to be.

And that's not my Everton tinted glasses. If Manchester City were making sounds, I could see that.

In my view, he's a player I would imagine Pep would be interested in and could coach. But I also think Lampard can too.

I don't agree with selling either of them. What sort of statement would this be from Everton?

If Everton have any statement of intent, it should be to get rid of more dross. Davies, Holgate, Townsend, Allan, Gomes and a couple more, and keep their better players to build around.

I know there are FFP issues and injuries for selling purposes, but if we go down the road of selling our better players again, we will be in another relegation scrap.

This is where Moshiri and Kenwright have brought us. Years of mismanagement and incompetence will see a fire sale of our few remaining assets to get these two morons out of jail.

Richarlison, and/or Calvert-Lewin, will be replaced by cast-offs like Choudry, Winks and whoever Man Utd want to be rid of. Unless there is a takeover by more competent investors,then our future is very bleak indeed.

Ralph @79, I wouldn't trust our board with £120 never mind £120M!

The quicker Chelsea get the Sterling deal wrapped up the better, so they can then focus on Richarlison and hopefully blow Spurs and mainly Levy out of the water.

It's obvious what Levi is up to:

“You need money, Everton, before Thursday, and if you want it, then it's a package deal only. No Gordon then no money.”

Mal, I can't see anyone matching the salary Gomes is on. Certainly not for someone so slow and unproductive. I can't see anyone in the Premier League wanting Davies either.

It's madness that Lookman was written off so soon at the same time Tom was apparently the better option and "one of us". A crazy way to run a Premier League club.

Mal #82, selling Richarlison is unfortunately a statement of the obvious. We're the 16th-placed side with very serious financial issues and Spurs are in the Champions League with a very good side and an excellent manager.

Spurs are no bigger than us in many respects, but they've made a much better fist of the Premier League era than we have.

With or without the takeover (which seems likely), Lampard, Thelwell and the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock could change our fortunes but it won't be overnight success.

Next season is about clawing our way into the top 10 with a squad – probably minus at least two of Calvert-Lewin, Mina and Richarlison. Hopefully a focus on cup success too.

I very much doubt we'll sell Gordon though. Keeping him and putting in place the foundations of a squad that can peak in 2 or 3 years has to be the objective this summer.

I don't believe that being a big club or not is determined by history or league titles – only by current financial position.

If only big clubs won titles, there'd only be one big club every season which isn't correct. Spurs are a big club by any standard and they make our club look bad in any sector that you'd care to look at. They have a great manager, they played exceptionally well last season, and they have real ambitions.

What is really sickening is that they are deciding which of our best players to buy and which of their dead wood they can offload on to us.

Gordon not ready for a move to them? He is already a top player and, in terms of potential, he is off the scale. I would value him at £40M but, in reality, would never sell him.

Christy (@19) and Gavin (@70) both make a good point here:

We all know Daniel Levy is a very astute operator in the transfer market, but Chelsea – under new ownership – have a reputation for getting transfers done in very short order.

I don't want Richalison to go anywhere in the English Premier League but, if we cannot sell him abroad, then a pure cash offer north of £60M must be preferable to one of Levy's clever tricks.

As for Gordon, he is going nowhere.

Look at Rob's post @71. And that will tell you everything you need to know about Richarlison making a massive mistake by going there.

Okay, they did qualify for the Champions League, but talk of them being regular qualifiers is way off the mark.

Let's hope our cowardly board say to Levy “£65M or £70M and we'll talk.”

As for the Gordon rumours, don't make me retch. 100% not going to happen. more chance of Lord Lucan riding Shergar bareback through the Mersey Tunnel and turning up at L4 for the Chelsea game on the first day of the season.

Oh fuck, we're done for. Our illustrious Chairman will have managed to squeeze a combined total of £30M for Richarlison and Anthony out of Levy because Levy paid for the wine:

Any chance we could make them take Gomes instead, under the ethical principle of 'you broke it, you bought it'??

If that's true, Brian, we will be well and truly up the creek without a paddle.

Thanks whoever tidied up my messy link. I really will have to learn how to do some stuff!

Joe#87, Robert #88. I know the reality of the situation, but I’m just so frustrated and angry, that when do have some decent players, what do Everton do? Sell them.

Ffs, get the new owners in, Kenwright has had his time, retire to the back benches and beyond or else we are going nowhere….yet again!

Indeed Mal. Apologies, my statement of the obvious probably just answered a rhetorical question. Unbelievable to be trapped in this position foe 30 years of the Premier League.

Brian #92 Bill probably paid for the dinner as well and put it on the company credit card

£200m for both

Deal deadline end this week so we can have time to re-invest

Straight cash - no Winks or any other cast offs

If not, goodbye Mr Levy, sell Richarlison to Chelsea and bring in Broja and Gallagher as part of the deal.

'Can't someone on Everton's board just phone Levy. Tell him to fuck right off and try poncing some players off another club'
Don't worry chaps our beloved chairman has met with that snake in the grass, all will be well.
Well, won't it?

This sounds like nonsense to me. Paper talk.

I don't understand why some fans on here get all worked up about this kind of bollocks, and start frothing at the mouth about how terrible our club is, and what a snake Levy is, and how Spurs are getting big for their boots etc.

Right now, this is just made up shite from media outlets who need to fill column inches and hours of "Breaking News" broadcasts. If we do sell Gordon and RIchie to Spurs for ten pence, I'll be interested in our board's reasons but, until then, I really don't care what Sky says.

Why is Kenwright even allowed to negotiate with Levy, Moshiri is a moron, that is surely Thelwell’s role.

Somewhere in the middle of that meal there was obviously a deal being made, or at least, someone was about to get rolled and stuffed with Paxo. Levy will probably offer to wipe the slate clean with Ali if we let them have Richarlison, but being a decent man he will give us 20m for Gordon as we are strapped for cash.
Levy is just dragging it out till the 30th to get a better price.. can we just give Ali back and walk away?
If we are going to get slapped for ffp then so be it is would rather keep than sell to levy. You just know we will be shafted.
I wonder if they went Dutch?

Christine, 'I wonder if they went Dutch' - you think we're getting Steven Bergwijn as part of the deal?

Michael #101, very sensible.

Richarlison wants to leave, fair enough I think we all accept that. Lampard won't want Gordon sold as well, that's obvious, losing Richarlison is bad enough.

What it does, it unsettles Gordon who now knows he can get more money elsewhere, if he didn't know that already.

Maybe the club should improve his contract.

"Why is Kenwright even allowed to negotiate with Levy, Moshiri is a moron, that is surely Thelwell’s role."

You'd think, Jeff.

I know little of him yet to have an opinion but he is the DoF... apparently. I wonder if this is addressed in his contract, or defined in the terms of his role.

However in the desperation of the mire that we are in financially, I think it will be some time before Kenwright and Moshiri are prepared to step away from the money side. They have their screw-ups to (try to) fix.

Michael @ 101, I agree.

Even if the idea of Spurs putting in a joint bid has any basis in fact, it clearly won’t be entertained by Everton. Why so many posters are getting worked up about it surprises me.

Frankly, I also don’t buy into the claim that we need to make a major sale before 30th June to comply with FFS rules. If that was the case, we would already have sold Richarlison for the much ridiculed £50 million price tag that lazy journos were touting at the start of June. No club would entertain taking such a commercially consequential decision to the wire like that.

It is clear though that we will need to sell either Richarlison or DCL to invest seriously in the summer. We will have a figure of £75-80 million for Richarlison which Levy will have been trying to offset using a) Dele’s transfer fee b) Winks’s transfer fee c) including Gordon in the deal.

Labelling Levy as a ruthless transfer Svengali is almost as laughable as claiming Spurs are a top club. They had to borrow £150 million from the banks to fund a transfer pot for Conte, otherwise he was going to walk. I wouldn’t be surprised if Chelsea beat them to Richarlison.

Thelwell offers kenny a new contract because he can’t or won’t find another class back up to patterson and now not involved in this saga. Bit of an iffy start I was hoping third time lucky as a dof. Red flag out already mate. Why can’t he be allowed to do what his job title is. The sooner we. get this takeover the better.

So much for Kenwright being just a figurehead at the club and doesn't have any power, as some have suggested.

Well this puts that to bed.

Brian, a bit iffy if true.

Who knows, there may've even been a slight one of us pressure from er, somewhere in the wings.

I'm not a big fan of the whole DoF thing anyway but since he's here, we have to hope it starts to work.

Andy #94 Brian#92

Sadly it's true - Levy v Kenwright - the negotiation equivalent of a knife to a gunfight.

Bill chugging back the Blue Nun, waxing about Corrie and the old times. Daniel regularly topping Bill's wine glass up, sipping nothing but water throughout. Judging the optimum time to strike - getting Bill loose enough to fully comply before the point at which Levy can no longer stand any more of his bullshit.

Bill wakes up this morning, in the clothes from the night before. Two players down but one pocket carnation up...

"Bill wakes up this morning, in the clothes from the night before. Two players down but one pocket carnation up..."

John, you forgot the sore ringpiece.

Just saw on another thread where Lampard has snubbed a deal for Winks with Levy, he doesn't want him.

I just don’t see Frank Lampard accepting all of this shit. He wants to win things and so does his team that he brought in. I just can’t see him allowing some dickhead like Kenwright deciding who comes and goes. Further still he will not want Spurs getting stronger on the back of weakening his own team.
I think Lampard will want Richarlison to stay put and honor his contract and as for Anthony Gordon well there’s no way he’s going anywhere. Hopefully he’s got his eyes on being a future Everton Captain and not be a glory hunting prick like Rooney.
There’s still alot of deadwood to be sold which will bring in Money and Fred up wages for newcomers so I’m putting my faith in the manager having alot more control over these issues.

Steven Bergwijn plus £20 million for Richarlison - if any further proof was needed that Levy is a clown?

The Sun now reporting that Spurs' offer for Richi and Gordon is.......

£100 million.

Must have been a hell of a dinner at Scott's. Maybe Bill slipped something into Levy's drink.

If I’m not mistaken didn’t Man City and PSG break FFP regulations, and made up excuses and nothing happened. Why are we selling one of our best players who still has two more years on his contract, haven’t we saved millions by offloading Delph, Siggy, Tosun and Kenny.

It's looking like it's Spurs for Richarlison as Chelsea are supposedly chasing Sterling and a few others. I suppose it was expecting too much for Richarlison to stay for another relegation battle, but at least if Chelsea had been interested in him, we could have asked about Gallagher and Broja.

I see nothing in the press over anyone interested in Calvert-Lewin – at least that would have been the most profitable sale as whatever we get from Spurs for Richarlison, 10% goes straight to Watford.

Apart from Tarkowski, there doesn't seem to be much movement in bringing players into the club, although maybe we are having to sell before we can buy because of our problems with FFP. I am sure Lampard has real worries about what sort of side he will be able to field next season without significant movement in the sale of some of our players.

We hear that Allan could move back to Italy and the club are looking to move on Gomes, so with Delph allowed to leave, it doesn't give Lampard many options in midfield.

Also, with losing Richarlison, we will need some attacking options, the problem being, with so little money to spend, then we will no doubt end up buying a forward from a relegated Premier League club or an untried player from abroad.

At present, we have Tarkowski, Keane, Holgate, Mina and Godfrey all centre-backs, but moving any of these on might prove difficult.

Mike it's The Sun. Ignore it.

Or slipped something somewhere else Mike.

Christy, it's called having a pair, sticking 2 fingers up and, to use an 80s chant, "come and have a go if you think you're hard enough".

We've rolled over like a tame dog and had our tummy's tickled to get back to being obedient.

Steve 118

The one thing Levy isn't its a clown, he got Everton to sign Alli on permanently and when he plays 20 games we pay Spurs £10 million and the more he plays the more we pay and this could cost us £40 million plus the £100,000 plus a week in wages. This is a player that Mourhino and Conte felt was surplus to requirements, surely that should have set alarm bells off but Levy persuaded us to buy him not loan him like any sensible club would have done.

Also Levy promised Kane that if someone offered Spurs £100 million he would be allowed to leave, City offered more than the £100 million but Levy knew if he allowed Kane to leave he would lose Conte so he refused to honour his agreement but Spurs under Conte got Champions league football. So Levy might be many things but he certainly isn't a clown Steve.

Brian, I’ve read it’s 10% of everything over 40m, so if it’s 60m Watford will get 4. I really hope that another club comes in for him, I can’t see a patched up deal with Levy and Tottenham being positive for us.

I wanted Broja then Gallagher or Zinchenko to compensate for Richie’s loss . So the fee Levy should be paying would be to allow us to get those deals done. Or a large part of it .

Any Chairman or DoF worth their salt has to dig in and make sure we come out stronger . Have we learned nothing after letting Lukaku go and being replaced with nothing? The club’s future is at stake here getting this wrong could be one mistake too many,

The time for he club to start being well run is NOW , TODAY . Don’t harm the club do bad business with Levy, play hardball for real money (proper compensation that we can strengthen with, not convenient unwanted squad makeweights) … or walk away.

Pete (117) - Maybe you need a dose of reality to go with your vitriol.

Lampard has little to no control over our finances. We are firmly wedged between a rock and a hard place, and something needs to give. If he were to put his foot down then it would likely become a stand-off that would either end with him relenting or resigning. We need to sell players, and quickly, and at least one player we would like to retain will have to go. Maybe more.

As for calling Rooney a "glory-hunter" I think it's well documented that he didn't want to leave us, was ultimately forced to hand in a transfer request, and was sold to "save the club" from financial disaster. Cannot believe we're back here again less than 20 years later.

Hopefully any dealings with Spurs first involve handing back Deli to them before an obligation to buy comes in. If Conte has deemed Deli not good enough for him, then that should be all the judgement required. He should be seen as a stop gap signing for the season gone.

As at least one poster has said, I imagine the Gordon story is pure kite flying to take some of the sting out of Richarlison leaving. I would not actually mind Gordon going, because he can't strike a ball like a top level forward should, but can't see how there is any truth considering how much of a home bird he sounds like he is.

Brian @ 118, Levy is an absolute clown.

Look at his recruitment in the last 6 years – Ndombele, Emerson Royal, Gil, Rodon, Lamela, Højbjerg, Docherty, Bergwjin, Lo Celso, Nkounkou, Wanyama, Sissoko, Janssen. He has wasted tens of millions on poor value transfers

The narrative around him being astute in the transfer market dates back to his purchase of Son and Alli in 2015, but his record after that has been terrible. The fact that he double-crossed Kane on the handshake over a £100M transfer just makes him duplicitous, not smart. No wonder he was having dinner with Kenwright.

In reality, he has hired only one relatively successful manager – Pochettino – who developed a decent team but won nothing. I know a lot of Spurs fans and they do not rate Levy in the slightest.

Michael #127.

We've already bought Dele Alli. He's not on loan, we can't hand him back, we bought him on a drip-feed deal.

When he's made 20 appearances, the fee to be paid to Spurs is £10M.

For the deal to reach £40M, it would mean we would have probably qualified for Europe twice.

Rooney is a "glory hunting prick"??? Because he left Everton under circumstances not of his making? Crap.

Michael #127, Conte isn't some all-knowing god of football. He thought Cuadrado wasn't good enough and shipped him to Juventus, where he won five straight Scudettos. So let's not write off Dele based on Conte's assessment just yet. He's ours and must get his chance.

Steve and Brian, Levy is neither a clown nor the deadly genius negotiator often portrayed here. He's made some good moves. He has also screwed up a lot, especially on managers. We should not be the least bit afraid to deal with him.

Mike @130,

I think you will find it's Joe Lewis who makes the call on managers and not Levy. Levy's strength is getting the best deal for Spurs on wages or length of contract.

I wouldn't call Rooney a glory hunter. Wanting to succeed at the highest level? Yes. But not glory hunting.

I wish he would have signed a contract to protect the club and give us a couple more years. But that's the Evertonian in me. The reality is he was a teenager having his life dictated to him by agents and the media, who knew as well as we did how good he was. Knowing he was going to win things, but that wasn't going to be with Everton any time soon.

You're right, Mike Gaynes. Levy is neither a fool nor a genius. He's an astute businessman who drives a hard bargain. He has turned Tottenham into something that is slightly better than what Kenwright and Moyes achieved if we want to be blunt. Nowhere near challenging for the title but regular Top 6 or 7 finishes and a couple of more frequent appearances in the Champions League proper.

But that's about it. And in 2 years time, when we have the new stadium and European football, we'll be back on an even keel with them. So, for all the hype, they're slightly ahead of us in footballing terms.

Brian #131...

According to every press article I've read, it's Levy. Lewis is never mentioned in stories about their manager hires. Here's three examples:

José Mourinho appointed Tottenham manager after Pochettino sacked

The timeline for how Tottenham Hotspur ended up hiring Nuno Espirito Santo

Where are they now? The nine Tottenham managers hired and fired by Daniel Levy

Lewis is 85 and lives on a yacht in the Bahamas. By all accounts he rarely appears at Spurs games these days.

Andrew. I need a dose of reality. The reality is that we will lose Lampard if we continue to allow non-footballing people to control the transfers. He is a very intelligent up-and-coming ambitious manager and won't want to be messed around by the club just because they pay him good wages. It was only 6 months ago that the same people were giving Benitez total control!

Frank Lampard will be wanting assurances regarding players and transfer money; if we are indeed forced to sell a few more of the better players, then it would also be an indication that the takeover is not imminent.

As for my 'vitriol", calling Kenwright a dickhead and Rooney a prick hardly constitute vitriol. I was brought up in Liverpool 3 and later Liverpool 9 so it's hard to shake it off and it comes out now and then when the discussions of Everton's mismanagement are on the table. I'm sure you hear worse at Goodison Park.

Mike. Even as a 17-year-old, I knew quite deeply how much Everton meant to me and also how badly I disliked Man Utd and their supporters match-day songs about hating Scousers. Not in a million years would I have allowed my boy to go to that club. Worse still, he goes on to kiss the badge at Goodison and only recently speaks about his dreams to manage Man Utd.

I think I have good reason to call him a glory-hunting prick.

Totally wrong calling Rooney a glory hunter, he was forced out, I believe, by our great chairman at the time (Bill Kenwright).

He said Newcastle had offered £20M for him, a total bluff to up the price, and Man Utd bought him for £30m, to keep the club afloat because our great leader and his fellow shareholders had us heading into administration.

More rumours we've upped the price for Bergwijn over Ajax, and want Rodon as well, are we taking all the Spurs reserves.

Brian @129, Michael @127, yes he has a deal until 2024. To those who are saying sell him on, this will be difficult because of the salary he is on.

The same goes for the other £100 grand plus men, Mina and Gomes. They will probably see out their contracts until they are free agents.

Pete #134, I despise Man Utd as much as you do, more even than Liverpool, and I know exactly how you feel about that transfer, but I don't blame Rooney for that.

I also have little respect for how Rooney has sometimes conducted himself, from the badge thing to the Volkswagen to the DC airport idiocy.

But I've never seen him as a glory hound, and I thought he showed character in sticking with Derby and putting his ass on the line to stand up for his players there. So I wouldn't call him a prick either.

Mike. Newsflash. Old Trafford is the other end of the East Lancs Road. We only have one dislike / hatred. In fact they have done us loads of favours over the years (Greenhoff, Solskjaear, Cantona) plus blocking them for 30 years thanks to Ferguson.

Most or all from here would agree. I don't like them but they mean sod all to me, mate. Just saying.

Understood, Brian, but I wasn't raised on Merseyside, and I only became an Evertonian in 1985. Before then, my favorite team in England was whoever Man Utd was playing that day.

Looks like I was right about Kenwright. For the millionth time.

I'm telling you, boys and girls, this man is the absolute ruination of our football club and he just won't leave it alone. Unless we rid ourselves of this despicable lying two-faced parasite and his sycophantic followers, we are in dire trouble.

What an absolute mess. Just reading there is a petition to drop the shirt sponsor too – another masterstroke by the Board of Bill.

Fuck Off, Kenwright!

Me #125, Good job I'm not doing my O-Level Maths this week. Should read ‘... if the fee is £60M, Watford get £2M. '

Mike 137. I enjoy your posts, but please, I'd take Utd over the RS any day of the week.

Nick, 140. I’m with you. He has destroyed the Everton I grew up supporting.

He hasn't destroyed us Clive. He can't.

He has overseen the longest period of stagnation we have had in living memory, but we proved last season that no-one can destroy us.

It's our club. We've sailed close to the wind a few times but when it matters, we step in and lift them. We simply won't allow it.

I grew up as a 70s kid and 80s teenager. So my Everton life has mostly been characterised by living under the shadow of Lucifer's Children bar that brief period of success followed by decline into mediocracy intermittent with very close shaves with relegation and the occasional false hope.

We're still standing and always will be.

Bill Kenwright is an example of why idiots like me should never be given control of Everton. Hand it over to professionals and leave the sentiment out of it. Leave that side of things to emotional fools like me and the thousands of others who are always there.

Your time to go was many years ago Mr Kenwright. It definitely is now.

I didn't blame him for wanting to go as I actually blamed the parents for not guiding him to a different move and I'm sure there were a few others interested. However, I could never forgive his act at Goodison when he scored against us as it showed his lack of respect and any meaningful intelligence in his nugget.

A true fact is that a lot of Man Utd supporters hated him just because he was Scouse. They sing the song every game: “If you all hate scousers, clap your hands!” so how anybody could send their young lad there is beyond me. Anyway. Enough of him.

Let's just hope that Anthony Gordon kicks on and becomes the player he is promising to be. We need people in our team who feel proud to wear that blue jersey (minus the sponsor) and, with Seamus coming to the end, there are very few of them left.

I would also count Pickford, Brathwaite, Godfrey, Mykolenko and Calvert-Lewin as the players to build the team around but there are huge gaps to fill in there.

Losing Richarlison is akin to starting with one foot in the Championship. Who takes his place and scores the goals?

We have Gray and Townsend who may chip in and of course Calvert-Lewin – with a good supply.

The middle of the park is very poor indeed as Doucouré seems to offer very little but running. Allan will be even slower so, even though his heart's all there, he won't be any use. We have to get quality for the midfield.

Very worrying times for the club and all of us fans.

Pete #145, with the money we get for Richarlison, we should be able to replace him with somebody capable of 10 goals. A healthy Calvert-Lewin will surpass that easily. And Gray and Alli should be able to combine for that many.

But while Townsend is in fantastic form in the papers -- loved what he said about Klopp -- I doubt we'll see him on the pitch before winter. That knee blowout was really bad.

Mike,

we've already spent the Richarlison money on Dele Alli.

Mike # 146. The thing that gives me most cause for optimism is the mood in the camp.

Whatever the incomings and outgoings, we'll have a pretty limited playing staff, I expect.

But if we can deliver the same (let's be honest) near miraculous never-say-die type performances, then we should be okay for Top 10 again and a dark horse for the cups.

Obviously that's not the most ambitious of targets but it's a step in the right direction – and I really do think Lampard can win us a cup. That would be absolutely huge for us.

I still believe Lampard has a few players lined up, with his connections, especially in the middle of the park, where we totally lacked pace and guile last season.

For what it's worth, Brazilian news outlet UOL are reporting today that Tottenham are planning to get a transfer deal for Everton forward Richarlison wrapped up this week. Things are going well for Spurs, who hope to get a deal sorted for £60 million.

Tottenham reportedly have a five-year contract sorted with the 25-year-old Brazil international forward, who earns £110,000 per week as salary (SalarySport) at Everton.

I think getting the mood in the camp right is so important, Robert, and that's why I took heart yesterday, reading what Andros Townsend said about Lampard helping to fix a broken squad.

This Bergwijn has always looked like he could be a very dangerous player, Robert, although I only watch a little bit of football these days, mate, so what's your own views on this player?

Bergwijn is certainly talented, Tony. A fast, right-footed left-winger with some tricks and end product.

My main observation is that we have Gordon and Gray and even Dobbin for the same position. What we really need is a left-footer for the opposite flank. In fact we've needed that player for years.

Someone like Ziyech at Chelsea in playing style (ie, a mere mortal version of Rodriguez who can actually run around a bit).

If we are going to invest in a right-footer, I'd rather take a punt on Keane Lewis-Potter from Hull who I think would run through brick walls for us if given a chance, whereas Bergwijn might see the move as underwhelming.

We should've bought Scott Twine.

He's gone to Burnley. He'll have a great season in the Championship before making his impact in the Premier League. He'd be capable of developing at Premier League level right now in my opinion.

Seems many on twitter are claiming that the deal for Richarlison is practically done, £60 million – no player exchange involved. Should this be true, then good luck to the lad as, without him, we would be looking to playing Championship football this season.

I don't know how much of that Lampard will be given to spend but it will have to be spent wisely. I know there has been a lot of talk about Lampard getting Gallagher from Chelsea, but I can't see that happening now he has broken into the England side. Not even sure that they will let Broja go either; there was a chance, if they had come in for Richarlison, we may have got Broja possibly on loan.

I worry that, without Richarlison's goals, we will struggle. Gray doesn't score enough and neither does Anthony Gordon. Also, with Calvert-Lewin being a 6-yard box predator, I can't see Gray or Gordon being the type of players to produce the crosses that he thrives on. I hope Lampard has plans to introduce more goal scorers into the side, both from forwards and mid-field; otherwise, I fear another tough season ahead.

Good point, Robert. Any player who feels underwhelmed signing for Everton should obviously pass up the opportunity instead.

I'm actually hoping that our crowd has made Dele Alli think about his career again because he could be a very good player for us if he reclaimed his desire.

Are there any posters on here familiar with our ffp and how we stand for this year?

To me and I must state beforehand, haven’t a clue how the three year turnaround works, but I am assuming this is the third year of our ffp where we submit for the three year turnaround.

If that is the case and we are fine with ffp, it does not make sense to me that we are in such a hurry to get a money for Richarlison, before the end of June, when we could hold back and put the sale on out next accounts, that will start July 1st, surely that would give us clout for the next balance sheets.

Like I say it sounds to me that we have to get the sale to show up on our current balance sheet, once that is fine, then I expect the new bidders to come in for the take over.

I cannot for the life of me figure out, why we want to get the sale to go through so quick, unless we have breached ffp and need to balance the current ffp.

I am all ears if anyone has a better reasoning to put the sale on this years finances.

As the Richarlison move is morphing into reality, it really does feel like a big piece of the jigsaw is being removed.

I think our pre-season will be like a game of Jenga. I wonder who else we will try and remove without getting relegated.

Thing is, though, footy is so unpredictable. We might make a couple of million-pound signings who knock our £40 million puddings into orbit and have a really good season.

Even with our restrictions, I still think it'll be a lot better than last season. Just having Calvert-Lewin up front will make a huge difference.

Tommy@153, yes I suspect you're right on Scott Twine. Very good player. Though very rare for players to make the jump up 2 divisions in 1 go.

Sounds like Richarlison deal is edging closer and that Raphinha is headed to Chelsea. If they buy Sterlin too (which is apprently still likely) they will definitely have some excess winger. Would happily take Broja or Hudson Odoi. Or maybe Pulisic on loan. Broja would be the pick for me and is one of the few players who works as hard as Richarlison with a similar athleticism and physicality potentially.

I also think Bergwijn might surprise a few. He's not really had a greta run of games since joining Spurs but in his last full season for PSV he managed 14 goals and 12 assists in 33 games; I know it's not a comparable league but that's pretty decent for a then 22 year old.

It seems strange though that we appear to be shopping almost entirely in the PL. It's not a strategy that has served us especially well in the past with the likes of Schneiderlin, Siggurddson, Bolasie, Keane, Williams etc

Meanwhile Palace have bought in Guehi, Eze, Olise, Ebiowei, Anderson and now the very talented Doucoure for less than £80m. All talented, athletic, hungry players who have doubled in re-sale value and will very probably see Palace finish above us next season. None of who came from the Premiership (except arguably Guehi though he'd been playing in the championship).

If Raphina is worth the reported £60m, then Richarlison should be a bare minimum £80m.

We will certainly need to replace his goals, Broja may just be a possibility, Frank knows him, trusts him, gave him his debut at Chelsea and with Frank’s connections maybe a deal could be struck. Chelsea will want conditions attached, ie first refusal to but him back or something along those lines. Then, If Gallagher is out of bounds maybe a loan deal for Pusilic?

We will need some ammo left to sign a quality, tough DCM. Even though this player will not be scoring the goals, he will be holding the team structure together and allow us to attack. It’s still the most important signing we are going to make this summer.

Yes Tony. A DCM is key though it seems that Lampard is determined to sign Winks and possibly play him there in order to dictate the play. Not sure that is the best idea personally.

Pulisic could be an intersting loan. Or Loftus Cheek who I really like. Loans could be crucial. Still can't believe we wasted a loan last year on El Ghazi. Ludicrous stuff. And currently those people are still in charge and making decisions!

Shopping in the poor value Premier League while Palace and others find the value, hunger and talent elsewhere. Story of our last failed 5 years Sam.

Hopefully some more imaginative signings to come.

Robert, you are correct. Over the last 3 seasons the recruitment at Leicester, Wolves, WHU and Palace. And we still have to piss about with the likes of Tom Davies.

It’s going to interesting if and when any transfers out of the club are done across the next few days, how Everton, plan to improvise, adapt and overcome.

Hopefully Frank and his staff have some good plans to fix and ideally improve the ability of the Everton squad.

Joe# 163 whats with the obsession of hating Tom Davies so much? it's not as if he had anything to do with our shite season just gone.

Sam, I agree It’s difficult to envisage Winks being successful that position, even if he is a tidy player. I don’t think he is a bad player at all, just have my doubts whether he is what we should be looking for.

There is a whiff of convenience about it because of the Richarlison situation. We should not be be getting involved with compromises of this sort or we will be faced with getting a player who is not quite right for us. We have to be more focused than this with our recruitment or we will continue to struggle with midfield weakness.

On the CM spectrum I see him more as a Gomes upgrade than the Jorginho type of CM that we need. This is the blueprint of DCM Kevin Thelwell has to find ; an enforcer who can play, a battler, a tough nut that the team feeds off. Someone who won’t be bullied or allow his team to be.

Apart from Allan, the rest of our midfield are far too nice , and Allan is getting regular niggles and is losing a few percent of his pace. Even so he’s a player I’d rather keep and let others go as I don’t want us unnecessarily undermined. We may be tempted to sell him, but he will help keep the ship steady whilst Frank builds a team.

If true, it's as if Spurs are throwing out a feeler to see how desperate Everton are. I would even suspect their seriousness regarding Richarlison.

So still this Richarlison saga drags on. Well I suppose you get one every summer.

What we can't afford is to go off on that preseason tour and still have this hanging over us.

If Spurs are serious tell them it's £65 million or no deal, maybe that brings Chelsea on board but I doubt it because if they were in this then they'd already be in the room now.

I can see in typical Everton fashion us allowing Richi to go for £50 million plus Winks on loan, we know our boards track record.

God knows where that leaves the Delle Alli fee also?

I don't see Bergwijn coming here, he's had his mind set on Ajax and if he did end up at Everton you get the feeling it's a forced move on him (and us) so hardly ideal.

I'd much rather we do a Spurs and play hard ball and got the £70 million for a Brazilian international then went shopping for our own players but as I say, this is Everton.

Jim, it won’t just be Winks on loan, it’ll be winks on loan with OBLIGATION to buy for £20m+.

Spurs latest offer was apparently £20m + Bergwijn…….which really does indicate they are taking the piss out of us considering they’re asking £25m for Bergwijn from Ajax.

The clubs silence is embarrassing. Tell them publicly to fuck off. None of the other top 5 are coming in for him now Chelsea have Raphinha and Arsenal have Jesus. Richie going abroad would be far more palatable, but most palatable of all would be a realisation he’s not wanted elsewhere and a new 5 year contract from us ahead of the World Cup.

Theres lazy journalism and theres shit journalism - this is both...

What’s the word?
The news comes surrounding defender Anthony Gordon, with O’Keeffe tweeting: “Frank Lampard might draw the line at the prospect of an Anthony Gordon exit – but Spurs aren’t the only club circling.”

I do wonder if the points deduction is either lazy shite or true journalism, though Mark?

I don't normally take anything written in the press as being true, but this is a scary thought, and shows you how badly our club has been getting run.

Sell Richarlison and then sell up, Farhad, please. Let's get people in who want to spend a lot of time and effort trying to make Everton competitive again.

Let's all try to calm down shall we, the next few days will play out as they will and the club know the fans won't settle for selling on the cheap.

If we took Bergwin on a perm and Winks on loan (with obligation to buy) and anything north of £30M it isn't the worst deal in the world. Bergwin is really talented and someone I admire, I think he would do well here, my preference is for Lewis-Potter from Hull (who looked very dangerous against us in the cup) and he is up for around £18M.

Sometimes though you have to do deals that make sense for all parties. I don't want us to deal with Levy, I don't want our fanbase thinking they have got palmed off with rejects either but look at where we finished last season. Both players have talent, if Frank thinks he can get a tune out of them then great.

Yes we would all prefer for Chelsea to be firmly in the race and throwing their B team at us but it looks like Raphina or Sterling are their targets.

If someone said towards the end of last season our summer business would be Tarkowski on a free, Bergwin, Winks (loan) and say Nunes from Sporting would you have been pleased with that? I think I would, well at least mildly excited by it, until we became shit again anyway ;)

Chairman Kenwright is going to be involved in transfers, as is the Chairman of Tottenham Levy. This is how Everton have always operated. Thelwell has been involved at a lower level, but the money end is dealt with higher up.

Grant Inglis, Financial Director and Board Member, and David Harrison, Club Secretary & Football Operations, are more likely to be involved at this level. Kenwright is head of the pyramid with Moshiri's say so.

So the S-N is now claiming spurs will offer £100M for Richarlison and Anthony Gordon, £80M up front and £20M add ons. What’s so funny about this rag of a newspaper is that they claim Anthony Gordon wants to move to the north London club. What a crock of shit!!

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/19023193/spurs-levy-kenwright-everton-Richarlison-gordon/

Richie was one of the reasons we stayed up last year, if he is sold we will have a massive void to fill. With the current group of players without Richie's goals, we could well struggle to get out if the bottom half.

Keep Pickford, Rich, Dom and Gordon and be open to offers for the rest, while introducing some of the youngesters.

Richarlison will be a big loss.

I may be on my own but I'm not that bothered about Gordon. He got pace, but so far the evidence that he can cross or shoot is limited. Think of Walcott at the same age, big difference. I certainly don't want Winks as part of this deal.

The Kenwright era, then followed by Moshiri & Kenwright era, has sent us to days we have never known. So far behind… it's insurmountable.

I wonder what the thoughts are of our new prospective owners regarding the sale of Richarlison?

Maybe they realize the financial state of Everton regarding FFP is that bad that they are forced to sell their best player. But what if, while negotiations are progressing, Pickford decides Everton is a club on the decline and wants away? He is probably in the strongest position to attract top money.

Does there become a point where the prospective new owners say "We offered x because you still had very saleable assets but, now you have sold them, the club is not worth our original price."

Joe, I get what you're saying about Anthony Gordon in terms of delivering a cross.

In open play, just like Demarai Gray, it's not necessarily his game.

But both of those can deliver a cross from dead ball situations. Look at the Branthwaite goal against Chelsea (Gordon) and the Calvert-Lewin winner against Palace (Gray).

Both players tend to want to drift and come in from wide to get a shot away in open play rather than the traditional winger who gets to the byline and "whips one in". I think that role has been overtaken by modern full backs.

I think both have goals in them if they can be more consistent. Watch the every goal of the season clip on the official website. Gray, if he can be more consistent, can score a lot more. Gordon might not have a rocket shot on him, but he get's it on target and got the odd deflection in his favour!!

I think with both, it's more about how they contribute to the strikers and runners in front of them.

Brian #178,

I think they're probably realistic enough to accept that Everton will carry on making preparations for next season including selling some assets to free up funds to invest in new players.

If there was a firesale of all of our prize assets, however, it might as you suggest cause them to reconsider.

“According to The Telegraph, Tottenham have offered Bergwijn and an additional sum of £20 million to match the valuation of Richarlison.”

There's a lot of rubbish printed at this time of the year. Are they leaking this nonsense so that, when we get £30M and a couple of add-ons, we are appeased?

Also, does Bergwijn really want the move here? If he's not 100% for it, then it's asking for more costly trouble. It won't be plain sailing for him. We need need fully committed players – not ones who are just here for the lucrative contracts.

Secondly, is Winks the right player for that all-important defensive central midfield position? I'm not so sure.

Tony #171,

I think it is more likely that they are working in agreement with the Premier League Profit and Sustainability Committee. I can't see any hard and fast deadline, just Everton working through the Summer within the budget they have.

There is probably relief in the Premier League that they avoided relegation. The Leeds and Burnley letters are buried by now. As for a 30 June deadline, that can be handled by the Accounts department. It will be a normal Summer of business on a budget which suits all the parties involved.

Of course the press will go into increasing crisis mode, reaching a crescendo in August. A real lazy journalism month. As long as Everton are making an effort, the Premier League will be happy enough.

Thanks, Jerome, I hope you're correct on this one mate, but what Christine said the other night makes sense, and it's possible a deal has already been struck over dessert!

If we accept players in this deal, then Telwell is neither use nor ornament and might as well resign as it defeats the object of a proper DoF with contacts and inspirational finds.

That Nottingham Forest lad, Brennan Johnson – would he come here?

Gone past caring over another badge kisser on his way. Good luck Richy anyway. We are Everton. Life goes on.

There should be no double deals or players Spurs want rid of as part of any Richie deal

65-70 million for Richie if Rapinha is going for 55 million

Spurs want players off their books too so if Lampard is convinced he needs Winks then fair enough a season loan with an “option” to buy

Time to play Levy at his own game, though with Kenwright involved that’s up the swanee

Oh yes and send Deli back or somewhere else

Walsh, Brands, Thelwell – our Directors of Football.

Martinez, Koeman, Silva, Allardyce, Ancelotti, Benitez*, Lampard – our managers.

Common denominator: Kenwright, ably assisted by Moshiri's money, most of it wasted.

Is Kenwright that naive to be seen eating in public with his friend Levy? Publicity stunt by him? Surely if they were talking transfers, it would be done in private.

Levy may be a friend but Kenwright is not in his league when it comes to buying and selling players. We shall see!!!

How long before Thelwell walks? I appreciate that he may well be involved and can't be in two places at once. However, why was he hired in the first place, if Kenwright holds the reins?

The only thing I would give Kenwright credit for, was opposing Benitez's appointment. Otherwise, he is the sole reason we are where we are.

If the Kenyon consortium were to buy the club, I guarantee you Kenwright will be part of the deal. He will never leave, until he meets his maker, so we are stuck with him until then.

Not sure we should expect any more for Richarlison than Leeds get for Raphinha. They have very similar records in terms of goals and assists last season despite Richarlison playing further forward.

Richie probably works a bit harder and Raphinha definitely looks after the ball better. Think they will both fetch around £60M.

The big question is how we spend that money? Really hope that, if we bring in Winks, it's not with an obligation.

And will this imminent takeover affect our summer transfer strategy?! Will the new group carry on with Lampard and Thelwell? Presumably yes but not inconceivable they may wanna make an immediate change. Pochettino anyone?

Tony #183.

I would agree, Christine is usually on the mark. Kenwright is still Chairman and probably will continue as such.

Imagine having two takeovers and still being stuck with that big fat two-faced lying crying parasite Kenwright fucking everything up from top to bottom. Only could this happen to Everton. Absolutely cursed we are.

God, please make him go….

Brace yourself, lads and lasses, but I'm hearing the club have accepted a £35M bid from the skunks for Calvert-Lewin. Don't know how true this is though?

Don't like the sound of that, Rob.

Jerome @184,

Are you having a laugh?

Forget that earlier post @ # 186. Apparently it’s all a load of bull!!

I’m resigned to Richarlison going although I’m surprised it’s Spurs.

The fella has been a top Everton player, never given less than 100%, produced some memorable moments.

Good luck to him.

I see Sky is reporting that Spuds expect to conclude a deal for Richy within 24 hours.

Was really hoping Richie wouldn't go to another PL team, but it's probably as good a time to join Spuds as you could get. With Conte in charge they might actually win something soon.

So the rumours of a fire sale before June 30th are starting to look like fact, Spurs will hold us to ransom until the last minute and we’ll end up out of pocket for Richie after Watford’s cut, deal will be done at about £45 million and the non sale of Gordon will be used to spin it into a positive, shambles of a board and shambles of a club, I think ANY new owners could run this club 100% more business like than these 2 pricks.

Will be disappointed to see Richarlison go but sales of Lineker, Duncan and Rooney were more gut wrenching for me.

Thanks for the memories Richarlison. One of our better signings in the Premier League era.

My concern is the players we’re being linked with. Harry Winks is precisely the type of signing we should be avoiding and learning from our previous mistakes.

Jerome #177

"I can't see any hard and fast deadline"...so the fact that Everton's financial year ends tomorrow isn't a significant deadline?

Spurs? Feckin Spurs? Disappointed he wants to go there and even more disappointed with the fee as it’s reported that the fee “could eventually reach £60m” which means it won’t reach that amount. Once again, we’ve undersold our biggest asset due to the pathetic and amateurish way we are run like some shitty corner shop. Good old Everton, they never fail in letting you down.

I'd guess it's Conte not Spurs, Richy finds attractive.

Fuck off Kenwright

Gutted about Richy leaving, especially to another PL team. But he’s clearly wanting to move on, so what can you do? I’ll be furious if Gordon goes as well though.

I do wonder where our goals are going to come from. Please tell me we’re casting the net further than top six rejects.

For fuck's sake, bite their arm off! £100M for Gordon and Richarlison and buy Winks – yes, fucking Winks – for £20M… What a deal!!!

Joke of a club and I am done.

We still have the shite from last season: Gomes, Gray, Townsend, Calvert-Lewin, Holgate, Keane…

“Nothing but the best” — my fucking arse! And don't even mention fucking Iwobi — total shite.

Sorry Phil.

"Bite their arm off"
and
"Joke of a club"

Seem to be contrary opinions.

If you're not "done", can you clarify your stance please?

Now that's what I call a meltdown.

The Guardian confirming Everton playing hardball with Levy, and our stance going into the last day is we won't take less than £50M for Richarlison. Which means the Spurs fans will be able to use the £50M song, so it's a win win.

In the Guardian within the past hour:

Tottenham are on the verge of agreeing a deal to buy Richarlison from Everton. The striker is a key target for Antonio Conte, who wants to add more depth to his attack, and negotiations over the transfer are close to being finalised.

Everton have been holding out for about £50m and have previously been cool on Spurs’s attempts to include players such as the Dutch winger Steven Bergwijn in a swap deal. Bergwijn is a target for Ajax.

No mention of Winks.

No matter how they dress it up, this is a colossal fuck up. Richarlison has 2 years to run on his contract and should have been offered a new contract and reassured about the new owners and the direction the club is taking.

Gomes, Mina and Keane should have been lined up to sell to cover FFP and then beef up our midfield for the new season and new financial year.

We are ripping out the driving force of our team. We all know how results went when Richarlison was out and, just like Lukaku, we will not be replacing him with the same quality.

John Moores must be turning in his grave in disgust at this lot.

Kenwright negotiating with Levy. Oh my God – the only thing Kenwright is good for is looking after himself.

Jay #205, if you think Gomes, Mina and Keane could have brought in anywhere close to £50 million, you're dreaming.

Our midfield needs way more "beefing up" money than those three would ever bring, even assuming there would be buyers and they were willing to go -- which I doubt, considering their Everton salaries.

After further consideration, I will not be doing the pigeon dance if Richarlison scores for Spurs. You're on your own in that kit, man.

Dale #207,

There's always an upside in any transfer. 😊

Dale must have seen the petition signed by 20,000 pigeons.

Oh that, I thought it was a Jackson Pollock work, creative creatures those pigeons.

Brendan 208, the upside here is an increased intensity of my disdain for the house of Hotspur.

Jay (205),

Sorry to pick you out but your post sort of sums up the level of denial about the current state of affairs at our football club.

I don't know the true extent of our financial plight, but my best guess is that we need to realise funds immediately to meet Profit and Sustainability rules and player sales are the only real way to do that.

Maybe we need a certain amount to pass a threshold – and that amount is likely to be sufficiently high to mean that we need to either sell a bunch of fringe players – or just Richarlison – quickly. Maybe even selling Richarlison doesn't quite get us there, and there's no way we'll offload fringe players quickly and for meaningful fees.

Whatever the extent of our vulnerability is, and what sort of timescale we need to operate within, I suspect that other clubs know our predicament – and it does not surprise me in the slightest that it is Spurs who are sniffing around and preparing to benefit from our open wounds.

Maybe new owners will arrive, and a rebuild is possible, but that's not happening in the next few days. I expect the next few days to be pretty ugly. We might see Richarlison (and maybe one or two others of our more prized players) sold for slightly south of their actual worth. I hope I am wrong, but the signs are not good.

Andrew,

None of us know the actual number required or what sort of deal was struck with the Premier League but we have known about it for quite some time so I don't know why some of our unwanted (Keane, Mina, Gomes, Holgate etc) weren't offered out earlier.

If you want to succeed in the Premier League, you do not sell players like Richarlison, Lukaku or Rooney.

Rumours of a 30M offer for Gordon. 20M plus writing off the Ali 10M for 20 appearances. I’d snap their hand off if true.

Good player, but no end product yet, and I think we inflate his impact because he’s one of our own.

Liverpool are great at giving some youngsters a few games then selling for a high fee based on potential - Ibe, Solanki, etc. I’d love Everton to be able to see our players weaknesses and cash out early.

Jay @212 – who is going to buy those players?

Who is going to pay Mina £120k a week given he can't play more than half a season? If they were willing, how much would they give Everton for getting him off our books? Peanuts…

Who is going to pay Gomes £80k a week given he can't run or tackle? If they were willing, how much would they give Everton for getting him off our books? Peanuts…

Who is going to take Holgate? The fifth-choice centre-back of the worst defence in the Premier League?

Andrew 213. I'll say it again: there's no way a club like Spurs are interested in Gordon. He's ours, and he'll get a lot of game time this season.

Skysports reporting that Newcastle are in contact with Everton over a deal for Anthony Gordon - a fee of up to 35 million has been discussed apparently.

I hope this is just some bullshit rumour - I would be really disheartened if Everton are considering cashing in on AG. The message would be that we are a dying club.