Last summer, Everton made a notable effort to woo Jack Grealish, aiming to bring the Manchester City midfielder to their ranks. Grealish was given an exclusive preview of the club’s impressive new stadium, set to open soon, as part of a comprehensive recruitment strategy.
The plan was for Grealish to become the cornerstone of a new chapter for Everton, a transformative figure on the field, and a hero to a fanbase eager for a revival. The club hoped he would embrace the opportunity and join their ranks.
However, when David Moyes entered the picture, the message shifted significantly. Grealish was candidly informed that no special treatment awaited him at Everton. He was reminded of his limited playing time under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City over the past year. Moyes made it clear that securing a spot on his first team would require Grealish to demonstrate his commitment and earn his place through hard work and perseverance.
Currently, there’s a sense of anticipation along the Mersey, driven by what seems to be an ideal partnership. On one side is Moyes, deeply devoted to the club, viewing Everton as a significant force in English football.
On the other side stands a new American ownership group, alongside more than a dozen fresh executives. Their mission is to guide the club, which was once struggling, towards seizing opportunities and tapping into the newfound potential that surrounds them.
There is a perfect storm brewing at the side of the Mersey, powered by what appears to be a perfect match
David Moyes has electrified the fans again, turning this team into European contenders
THE RACE FOR EUROPE
| Team |
Pl |
GD |
Pts |
| 4. Aston Villa |
31 |
+5 |
54 |
| 5. Liverpool |
31 |
+8 |
49 |
| 6. Chelsea |
31 |
+15 |
48 |
| 7. Brentford |
31 |
+4 |
46 |
| 8. Everton |
31 |
+2 |
46 |
| 9. Fulham |
31 |
-1 |
44 |
| 10. Brighton |
31 |
+4 |
43 |
| 11. Sunderland |
31 |
-4 |
43 |
The last match before the international break, a 3-0 walloping of Chelsea, felt like lift-off for their new home. A feral, Goodison-esque atmosphere, fuelled by outrage at the perceived injustice of the visitors’ points-deduction-swerving punishment for breaching financial rules, was the loudest the Hill Dickinson Stadium has heard.
To say Moyes’ men and their fans were up for it would be an understatement. In the build-up, one senior player had guaranteed victory. ‘This lot won’t know what’s hit them,’ he told a staff member. He was right.
The win has left them eighth. They are dreaming not only of Europe but of finishing above that lot now across the city, rather than the park, for the first time in 13 years. After a trip to Brentford, Liverpool make the short journey for the first derby at their neighbours’ magnificent new home and there is genuine belief within the blue half that they can be toppled, this season at least.
While there is still football to be played, it has been a remarkable turnaround under the Friedkin Group, who have only been in place for 16 months. This is the story of a club reborn.
It has to start with the £750m stadium because it has been one of the major catalysts. Consider this, Everton’s most recent accounts for 2024-25 showed a turnover of £196.7m for their last season at the Grand Old Lady.
Daily Mail Sport understands they are expecting that figure to sail to around £250m following their first year in their new home by the water. That would represent the fastest growth in the top-flight. The sale of 40,000 seats each match has risen to 53,000, 2,000 hospitality seats to 5,000.
Hill Dickinson has guaranteed £100m over a decade for naming rights. Partners include Budweiser and Pepsi. Such has been the success in the new venue’s first year officials from Manchester United have already been in touch for advice.
But there is more, much more, to come, according to those close to the situation. There is a recognition within the club that parts of the Hill Dickinson remain a blank canvas, and that more can be done to make it feel like home. As such, a project of ‘Evertonisation’ is ongoing. The addition of statues of club legends such as Dixie Dean and Howard Kendall are being considered.
Everton’s new stadium is set to send revenues skyrocketing towards £250million
Everton legends Dixie Dean (left) and Howard Kendall (right) are being considered for statues at the new Hill Dickinson Stadium
Major improvements are planned for the sweeping fan plaza, which would see it flipped into a 15,000-capacity outdoor venue for concerts and music festivals. Oktoberfest and Christmas Markets at Everton? Do not rule it out. The club currently have a licence to host six concerts inside the stadium, which they are hoping to lift to 10.
Everton want to acquire the neighbouring Nelson Dock, which is currently derelict, and deliver more transformation (which may also require tons of sand from the bottom of the sea to fill it in). The aim is to extend the club’s footprint and provide additional hospitality and leisure facilities.
The Friedkins’ portfolio includes a chain of award-winning hotels, The Auberge Collection, with properties in destinations such as California’s Napa Valley, Hawaii and Florence. Liverpool may soon be an addition to that list.
Improving non-matchday revenue is viewed as a key area which can be improved. While the NFL are happy with their UK offering in London and are seeking to expand into other European cities, hosting a regular season fixture has not been ruled out.
This week, the Hill Dickinson hosted Scotland’s friendly with the Ivory Coast. In the winter it staged a Test match between England and Australia and is set to become the new home of rugby league. This season it will be the venue for Super League’s Magic Weekend, when all top-flight clubs play at one venue, and it may well succeed Old Trafford as the host of the competition’s showpiece Grand Final.
With attendances a worry, the RFL could even seek to inject some life into its Challenge Cup Final by shifting it from Wembley to Merseyside. Across codes, England’s union side will play Fiji there on July 11 in the new Nations Championship. Euro 2028 matches are already secured.
Already, Everton are beating rivals across the North West to host events. The belief is that the Hill Dickinson is already proving to be the ‘Tottenham of the North’ (in a complimentary way).
The half-hour stroll from the stadium along the banks of the River Mersey to the city centre, on what is described as the ‘North Shore’ is set to be transformed, with a central park and walkway along with new residential areas as part of a partnership between the club and the local council. Much is aimed at the blossoming tourism industry, with Liverpool in the top five most-visited UK cities.
Everton want to acquire the neighbouring Nelson Dock, which is currently derelict, and deliver more transformation
Owners the Friedkins (Dan, left, and son Ryan pictured) want Everton to be among the world’s elite clubs
Currently, tours of Hill Dickinson are well-populated but tend to be made up almost exclusively of Everton loyalists and the aim is to extend and to include those who disembark cruise liners at the port.
Within the club’s structure much more expertise is already on board. The Friedkins quite quickly recognised a lack of leadership when they arrived and quickly set about rectifying it. No fewer than 14 hires have been made on the watch of chief executive Angus Kinnear, from a president of business operations to a chief revenue officer. The idea is to allow those in charge to act with autonomy and be best in class. The early signs are positive.
All of the above is aimed at providing Everton a competitive advantage on the field over the clubs from 7th to 12th place, and an opportunity to close the gap on a Big Six that, Tottenham dependent, may soon turn into a Big Five.
European football, a realistic prospect all of a sudden, would help. Matchday and commercial revenue is already on course to be the seventh-highest in the Premier League. There is a realisation that to consistently finish between fifth and eighth requires a squad value of around £550m, a £200m jump from the values of those that tend to finish between ninth and 17th.
Should you want to break into the top four, that figure rises to around £850m. Europe would also impact on Everton’s summer transfer business, opening up a new category of player.
Regardless, the club is already in a different ballpark to where it was pre-Friedkin when it comes to recruitment. Ahead of the summer window the combined impact of no relegation fears and a sparkling new stadium has shifted the dial.
The arrivals of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Grealish are seen as moves that herald a new era. That kind of talent is where Everton wants to be. Grealish may extend his stay and Daily Mail Sport understands that there is a growing confidence that he will do so. Talks are ongoing with City over another loan switch or a permanent deal.
After picking up his season-ending stress fracture in February the former Aston Villa playmaker decided to remain with Everton for his rehabilitation, which is a rarity and no doubt a positive sign.
Jack Grealish may extend his stay and Daily Mail Sport understands that there is a growing confidence that he will do so
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has been another transformative signing, joining last summer from Chelsea
He enjoys life in the North West and life at Everton. Despite only being ‘borrowed’ he has thrown himself into community activities. A heartwarming recent video showed him interacting naturally – albeit lying face down on the physio’s table – with a delighted group from the club’s down syndrome team.
‘If you ask him to come for an hour he’s there for two,’ one insider explained. ‘If you ask him to do two activities he’s doing four or five – he’s absolutely in his element.’
Moyes was at the centre of the move for Grealish. He tends to be at the centre of everything. Those inside the dressing room say his message all season has been that Europe should be the target. His view of Everton is that its rightful place is among the country’s elite.
This summer there will be sufficient funds to bring in four or five first-team ready players and the profile will shift slightly to those with more experience. That may not necessarily be in the Premier League but Moyes’s blueprint is clear. He wants players he can trust, whose work rate cannot be questioned.
There is an acceptance that a new striker is a priority area, and much of the focus will be around ensuring next season he has more firepower at his disposal, although the recent upturns in the form of Thierno Barry and Beto have not gone unnoticed. The hope is to replicate what Brentford have done with Igor Thiago, a £30m signing from Club Brugge who has scored 19 goals in 31 Premier League starts this season.
The analytics and recruitment company that the Friedkins bought, which serves both Everton and sister club Roma, will earn its corn. Much emphasis will be placed on a golden metric it operates, which delivers a probability of how well a player from overseas will adapt to the Premier League based on a series of indicators.
When all of the filters are applied and the shortlists drawn up, it will be over to Moyes to run his own checks. These tend to be around the intangibles, such as character, desire and dressing room fit.
That dressing room already subscribes to the ‘no d**kheads’ policy made famous by the All Blacks, with the likes of James Tarkowski, Seamus Coleman and Jordan Pickford ensuring nobody gets above their station.
Everton want more firepower but the upturn in form of the likes of Beto (centre), who scored twice in the win over Chelsea, has not gone unnoticed
James Garner has been a big beneficiary of the club’s upturn in fortunes, winning his first England cap against Uruguay last week
The likes of James Tarkowski set the tone in the dressing room with a ‘no d**kheads’ policy
With a new pool of talent to target, Everton will be ‘more aggressive’, according to those who know. The Premier League’s switch to squad cost to revenue ratio will assist, given the upturn commercially.
Despite what has happened since at Manchester United, some may wonder if Moyes is the man to oversee this step to the next level. There are no such concerns within the club.
The view is that, while the 62-year-old Scot has made a name for himself by leading teams to safety and beyond, the opportunity to build something long-term has been elusive since he first departed Everton to go to Old Trafford, and that he is not only the right man for the job but the perfect man for the job.
The club’s famous academy has also been earmarked for improvement. Internally, there is a view that the well has been allowed to run dry and that the conveyor belt has slowed. When a club is struggling to pay its bills, as Everton was at the fag end of the Farhad Moshiri regime, the academy is often the target for savings.
That is no longer the case. Officials believe that Everton can offer a pathway to the first team above and beyond that provided by their North West rivals. That they can look parents in the eye and tell them that their child has more chance of making it here than anywhere else.
Extra investment has been made. The club believe they were successful in bringing children into the setup at the age of six but were then losing the best of them to perceived bigger rivals when they hit 12.
Nick Cox, formerly Manchester United’s director of academy, is now Everton’s technical director and is influential, but there is an immediate gap to be filled with a dearth of talent coming through behind Harrison Armstrong, a gifted midfielder who has made 13 first-team appearances this season.
As a result, focus will be placed on recruiting players between the ages of 16 to 20. The view is that there are a lot of unhappy parents and a lot of prospects elsewhere who have 14 players blocking their route to the first team at clubs whose strategy is to stockpile talent.
The academy will be overhauled to fill the dearth of talent behind Harrison Armstrong, a gifted midfielder who has made 13 first-team appearances this season
Every game is sold out and there are 20,000 people on the season-ticket waiting list. To the Friedkins, this feels like the start and not the end. Everton are on the rise
The women’s team is another area for improvement. Attendances have trebled, albeit from a tiny base of around 1,200, since the move to Goodison Park, which is now also the home of the club’s education provision and community arm. The aim is to get attendances to 20,000, but that may well rely on the wider growth of the women’s game.
Ahead of the takeover some, battle-scarred Evertonians wondered if the Friedkins were coming in to flip the business for a quick profit. In reality, they could do that now if they wished.
Football’s most-distressed asset has been turned around. The Americans have, according to those close to them, no intention of cashing in.
Indeed, the view is that they are only getting started. Every game is sold out and there are 20,000 people on the season-ticket waiting list. To them, this feels like the start and not the end. Everton are on the rise.
