Everton have unsurprisingly earned huge praise in recent weeks, having shifted the narrative and effectively ensured survival.
It has been a hard-fought season, and one wrought with many ups and downs.
But in the end, their quality and renewed spirit proved too much, as they finally won a Merseyside derby at Goodison Park to end Liverpool’s title ambitions whilst also putting themselves eight points clear of the bottom three.
And with that hopefully sorted, attention will once again now turn to the takeover drama.
777 Partners suffer another takeover setback
As noted by the Liverpool ECHO, 777 Partners remain far from the only party interested in an Everton takeover.
Farhad Moshiri, however, inexplicably remains insistent on selling to the Miami-based firm, despite having been proven time and time again that they are far from reliable people when it comes to finding the necessary cash for various endeavours.
This report, penned by journalist Joe Thomas, does offer some good news though in the form of these alternative interested organisations, suggesting that the club is still not completely reliant on 777 Partners.
He writes: ‘All of this means significant doubts remain about the wannabe owners of the Blues. The only certainty for the club and supporters is the continued uncertainty. Against that backdrop, the ECHO understands there is still significant interest in Everton beyond that shown by 777.
‘This is not necessarily new. Two US consortiums came close to a deal with Moshiri before 777 swooped for his 94.1% stake. That agreement did not put off interest, further approaches are understood to have been made since that paperwork was signed in September.
‘Moshiri has maintained his faith in 777, however, partly out of his own confidence the group has both access to the necessary funds and a commitment to completing the new waterfront stadium.’
Sean Dyche’s Everton season has been scuppered by 777 Partners
Although he has enjoyed a remarkable campaign in charge of Everton, despite losing some of the fanbase’s affection during a torrid winless run from December to April, Sean Dyche has every right to be frustrated with the manner of the season.
After all, were it not for all the outside noise disrupting his staff and his players, this could have been a truly groundbreaking year after two consecutive terms of misery.
Having narrowly escaped the drop in back-to-back years, the hope was that this one would be different.
But PSR disagreements, resulting in two separate deductions, have kept them in amongst the relegation scrap.
Adding to that a takeover that has rumbled on since September, and all of Dyche’s hard work in forging a united squad has been constantly splintered through no fault of his own.
Hopefully, should everything be sorted by the summer’s conclusion, the 52-year-old can actually take the club forward with no unnecessary external turmoil.