Qualifying for Europe will help accelerate Everton’s planned summer rebuild, with another net spend of around £100m a realistic prospect at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in the close season.
David Moyes’ side have put themselves in real contention to return to European competition for the first time since 2018 with three wins from their last four games and sit only three points off rivals Liverpool, who occupy the final Champions League spot.
Crucially Everton seem to have addressed their patchy home form and Saturday’s 3-0 win over Chelsea felt like a landmark victory at their new stadium.
Moyes has made no secret of his desire to propel Everton back into Europe, and it is obvious why.
Sources suggest the impact of qualifying could be transformative ahead of a summer where the Friedkin Group is ready to once again sanction significant investment.
The club’s short-term ambition is to join the pack of challenger clubs like Aston Villa and Newcastle United who have gatecrashed the Champions League in recent years.
But without Europe, becoming the so-called “best of the rest” looks like a long shot.
With it they have an improved sales pitch to players and also new revenue streams for a club that wants to leverage their new stadium to make further funds available to Moyes.
Given Everton are likely to sell out every home game in Europe, even in the Conference League, each fixture could be worth up to £2m on the bottom line.
Financially, the Toffees have undoubtedly made progress in the last 12 months.
It is understood that the club’s upcoming accounts will show a small loss in the most recent financial year, but also that commercial revenues are now at record levels.
That will give them room under the Premier League’s financial rules to invest, with their quiet January transfer window a deliberate policy to enable a clear run at the summer.
Planning is underway for the next transfer window and a right-back, centre-back and forward are understood to be priorities.
Everton also remain hopeful of negotiating a deal for Jack Grealish, who is continuing his recovery from a stress fracture and continues to be a visible presence at club events.
The Manchester City winger is keen to return to Everton next season and that enthusiasm is reciprocated by Moyes.
But the deal will have to work financially for the Toffees as they look to strengthen in other key areas over the close season.
Having committed around £10m in terms of wages and fees to a season-long loan deal, Everton’s valuation of Grealish is around the £20m mark.
The Toffees will be helped in talks with City by the fact that there are few other viable suitors for Grealish given his age and contractual status.
Pep Guardiola has made it clear that the England winger has no future at the Etihad and even if there is a change of manager at City, that stance is unlikely to alter.
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Everton are also looking to bring in another centre-back and are keen on Arsenal’s Ben White, with his status at the Emirates uncertain.
The i Paper understands that Everton are one of the clubs interested in Bournemouth’s Marcos Senesi, who will be a free agent this summer.
There will be intense competition for the 28-year-old though, with Serie A sides Roma and Juventus among his suitors.
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