Ex-Chelsea chief Kenyon leads bid to buy Everton

Former Manchester United and Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon is leading a consortium hoping to buy Everton.

The club’s owner Farhad Moshiri is known to be open to investment options around the funding of the new stadium.

However he has not ruled out selling equity stakes in the club.

Now a director of football consultancy business Opto Advisers, Kenyon has worked on several deals in recent years and was linked with a bid for Newcastle United before their Saudi takeover.

The group led by the former Chelsea chief is understood to include wealthy US-based businessmen Maciek Kaminski and John Thornton.

As first reported by the Telegraph, talks are still at an early stage.

Last week Moshiri apologised to the club’s fans for mistakes made during a “challenging” season that nearly led to relegation from the Premier League.

Moshiri also reaffirmed his commitment to deliver a “fully funded” £500m stadium at Bramley Moore Dock, which is currently under construction, while pledging to avoid the mistakes in the transfer market that led to Everton posting combined losses of £372m over three seasons.

Moshiri has pumped more than £600m into the club since he first bought shares in Everton in 2016. He increased his stake in the club to 94.1% in January.

Last season Everton suspended their lucrative sponsorship deals with Russian companies USM, Megafon and Yota, who are all owned or part-owned by billionaire Alisher Usmanov, a close business partner with Moshiri.

Russian businessman Usmanov had his assets frozen by the European Union following the invasion of Ukraine.

USM had paid £30m for an exclusive naming rights option on the new 52,000-seat stadium, which is set to open in the 2024-25 season.

Everton, Kenyon and a spokesman for Moshiri declined to comment when approached by the BBC.

Relegation battle

The Toffees faced a relegation battle last season under Frank Lampard, the former Chelsea midfielder who succeeded Rafael Benitez as manager in February.

They were only assured of survival after winning their penultimate match of the campaign, eventually finishing 16th and four points clear of the drop.

In March the club posted losses of more than £110m for a third straight season, taking the total to £372m since the 2019-20 season. Everton attribute £170m of the £372m to loss of income as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Moshiri and chairman Bill Kenwright have received criticism from fans over how the club is run, including the unpopular appointment of former Liverpool manager Benitez last summer.

BBC/Emmanuel Ukoh