Former Everton defender Richard Dunne believes that the proposed takeover by the Friedkin Group can revive the club’s fortunes
Former Everton player Richard Dunne believes the Friedkin Group “have everything” the club needs to usher in a brighter future. After previously ending talks back in July, a deal for the Friedkin Group to purchase Farhad Moshiri’s entire 94.1% stake in Everton was announced on September 23.
A joint statement read: “Blue Heaven Holdings and The Friedkin Group confirm that they have reached agreement over the terms of the sale of Blue Heaven Holdings’ majority stake in Everton Football Club. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval, including from the Premier League, the Football Association, and the Financial Conduct Authority.”
As reported last week, sources close to TFG have told the ECHO that their client has maintained an eye on caution throughout this process, but everything is going fine at the moment with no cause for concern and an estimated completion date of mid-December remaining the target.
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Dunne made his debut for Everton as a 17-year-old before going on to make 431 Premier League appearances throughout his career. Speaking courtesy of Gambling Zone, the Dubliner said: “I hope I can be optimistic about the future at Everton, I think the fans deserve it.
“They’ve been through the mill in recent times, and it’s not looked good for them at certain points. I’m hoping that the owners can come and give them a brighter future and give them an opportunity to compete on a level playing field.
“They’ve been trying to survive for so long now, Everton, that it becomes very, very difficult year in, year out. I think moving into the stadium is a chance and opportunity to move on to a brighter future and to make everything better.
“These owners are capable of supporting those ambitions and backing the manager. There’s no better place to see this hopeful new year through than in a brand-new stadium.
“If they can bring the atmosphere and enthusiasm of a happy Goodison Park into the new stadium, they could be a club that really moves forward quite quickly, because all they need is that backing because they have the support, they have the infrastructure. They have everything.
“They just need a bit of financial backing to help them start getting themselves back to where they want to be.”
Everton’s prospective next owner Dan Friedkin already runs a European football club in the shape of Italian side Roma where 73-year-old Claudio Ranieri came out of retirement last week to become their fourth coach this year. However, with the economic clout of the Houston-based businessman, who is currently ranked at number 204 on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a daily ranking of the world’s richest people, with a calculated net worth of $12.2billion (approximately £9.64billion), Dunne hopes the Blues will soon be on a much surer financial footing.
The 45-year-old said: “I don’t think the Everton fans want their club to be in trouble with the Premier League anymore. Hopefully, they can put all of those financial troubles to bed now and start on an even keel next season with a sense of optimism.
“They know there’s not going to be any problems down the road. You don’t want to keep looking over your shoulder, that brings stability right away.
“The fans deserve that ambition from their football club. Short term, I think they will be targeting a push for the top half of the table, longer term, they will want to be fighting for the top six.
“I think that’s what Everton fans want, and I think they deserve it. The expectations from the fans will be low to start with but they want to know that their club is going to compete in the near future.”
