Everton’s entire transfer and business model has been forged around trying to avoid the impending profit and sustainability sanctions.
And whilst that technically has been unsuccessful given they were deducted ten points and found guilty of another alleged breach just last week, few can argue with the steps Kevin Thelwell has taken towards achieving true sustainability at last.
If the Premier League cannot see that, then they will continue to punish the Toffees despite arguably now operating far more within their means than most of their rivals.
That notion is only exemplified through this latest report, potentially detailing how they could seek to slap them with yet another PSR punishment set to surpass their initial deduction…
That is a suggestion outlined by Liverpool ECHO writer Joe Thomas, who penned a new piece regarding the myriad of sanctions at the disposal of the Premier League.
This comes just days after one finance expert detailed a third potential breach reportedly set to come in the new season.
Well, writing about how they might be dealt with in a manner differing from the deduction which has plunged them into a relegation dogfight once again, he offered the following outcome.
It does not sound good. The writer claims: ‘Secondly, the independent panels commissioned to hear Everton’s appeal and then its defence against a second allegation could consider a transfer ban on the club. In some ways, that could be more damning than the loss of further points.’
The journalist later goes on to cite how an inability to bolster a squad set to lose several stars through expiring contracts and loans might prove catastrophic.
Already Everton are in the midst of appealing their initial ten-point deduction, which is a process due to start in February and hopefully reach its conclusion by the end of the month.
With KC Laurence Rabinowitz having been drafted in to bolster that argument, it seems the Toffees are in the strongest possible shape to continue not to profess their innocence, but the scale of the punishment administered relative to their crime.
Then, once that appeal process has concluded, they will be able to begin a new one regarding their latest alleged breach.
It is set to be a relentless finish to the season both on and off the pitch, with the legal team now mind-bogglingly as important, if not more than the actual playing staff.
They will have their work cut out in trying to lessen the sentences and avoid the outcome that Thomas suggests.
