If there is one thing Everton fans can expect in the coming months, it is change. With new owners on the horizon, it is almost inevitable.
There appears to be few obstacles to the Friedkin Group’s (TFG) takeover at Goodison Park and rumours are already rife about what the American group may be planning.
A report on Friday, from Corriere dello Sport, has the changes starting at the top in the form of a new CEO.
That position has been filled by Colin Chong on an interim basis since the departure of Denise Barret-Baxendale in contentious circumstances last year. Her long-term replacement may be another woman, Lino Souloukou.
She was AS Roma’s CEO from April 2023 until September of this year and is highly regarded. Souloukou was previously General Manager at Greek side Olympiacos and worked with the European Club Association, working as a member of the ECA Educational Advisory Panel and their first ever Diversity Representative.
She has also worked as a member of UEFA’s Clubs Competitions Committee and their Social Dialogue Committee, and is the President of the Panel for Golden Boy and Golden Player awards for Tuttosport and holds a masters in Sports management and a global executive masters in international Sports Law.
Her resignation in Rome came amid growing fan anger following the sacking of Daniele de Rossi, but her work before then had caused little complaint.
TFG may wish to continue their relationship, and she is ‘in the running’ for the CEO position at Everton. They may need to move quickly, though, as Quotidiano Sportivo reported on 18th October that she is also on AEK Athens’ list.
Soulukou may not be the only addition at board level. A report from Calciomercato on 25th September indicated TFG are looking to add more in that aspect at Roma.
While the American owners are considering replacements for Souloukou as CEO they also want to hire another figure to deal with commercial aspects. That person would be ‘close to the Premier League club circles.’
The idea is to hire someone to facilitate a relationship between Roma and Everton and it would not be surprising to see a similar appointment at Everton alongside a new CEO.
With those in place, it is likely TFG would then turn their attention towards the man on the sidelines.
Sean Dyche may have done a very respectable job in extremely testing circumstances at Everton, but the chances of him remaining in charge after the takeover seem slim. It is not often that new owners maintain the status quo, preferring for their reigns to have something of a clean slate.
A report from Corriere dello Sport on 2 October put Maurizio Sarri at the top of TFG’s list of replacements.
He is a free agent after leaving Lazio and would have been a candidate to replace Daniele de Rossi if the appointment of a man who had managed Roma’s fierce rivals to replace a club legend would not have been akin to pouring petrol on an already raging fire.
The Italian is apparently the first name on TFG’s list for Everton. He would be the ‘first big move’ of their reign and has Premier League experience following his year at Chelsea. Fitness coach Daniel Tognacci is also being eyed up as an appointment for Sarri’s backroom team.
The 65-year-old has also signalled a willingness to return to work in January, telling Gazzetta dello Sport as much in an interview in September.
“I hope before January,” he said when asked if he is waiting until next summer for his next job.
“It will depend on the situations, the offers I receive, the motivations. From the phone call that will give me more adrenaline. I do not see myself at the last dance! I still want to coach, and I am in a position to give something.”
One name who is very unlikely to be on the touchline is Jose Mourinho. Reports in England have linked him with the position, but his relationship with TFG is not a positive one.
Mourinho has not spoken about his former employers in favourable terms since his dismissal. AS Roma Live covered the situation earlier this month, saying Mourinho spoke of an ‘incompetent management’ and ‘sort of amateurs in disarray.’
Corriere della Sera added to this, saying Mourinho still felt ‘bitterness’ following his sacking. Comments made in England had him labelling TFG and the person who sacked him, likely Dan Friedkin, as “someone who knows little about football.”
“The dismissal was the owner’s decision. It must be respected, and it is never discussed,” Sky Italy reported him saying.
“Fans are always the heart of football teams, without them there would be no football teams. But there is also ownership and when the owner makes a decision you have to respect it.
“I can say that the one with Roma was the dismissal that hurt me the most because there I gave everything I had, I gave my heart. So, when I left, I did so feeling hurt. The owner is the owner, and he decides.”
Thus, it seems unlikely Mourinho, or TFG, will be putting their differences to one side to bring him to the Premier League with Everton.
Whomever is appointed, there may be consultancy with agency CAA Base. They have already been brought in by TFG to help them find their new CEO at Roma and it would be no surprise to see that relationship continue at Everton.
They currently represent two former Everton managers in Carlo Ancelotti and Frank Lampard, as well as the likes of Ange Postecoglou, Steve Cooper, and Kieran McKenna. Everton favourite Richarlison is also on their books. If TFG are planning a big January window for a new manager, they will surely be involved somehow.
Either way, Everton need to prepare themselves. The Friedkin Group will be planning changes and may even already be drawing up a roadmap on that front, starting with a new CEO. Given Moshiri’s almost absent leadership in recent years, that will surely be welcomed.
