Everton confident £200m takeover deal to complete before end of the season

Everton are increasingly hopeful a £200 million takeover by an American consortium will be complete before the end of the season.

A consortium of investors including the former owner of the San Diego Padres baseball team, John Jay Moores, and business partner Charles Noell have been in a process of due diligence since before Christmas.

Having been cautiously optimistic these negotiations would come to a successful conclusion, the Merseyside club is now increasingly expectant a prolonged search for investment is reaching a successful conclusion.

Moores, 70, and Noell held takeover talks with Swansea City earlier this season before shifting their focus to Merseyside. They entered a period of exclusivity with Everton that ended in January, but have maintained a dialogue since then.

Everton chairman Bill Kenwright has been cautious about any possible sale in previous years, anxious whoever replaces him in the boardroom is the right fit. That said, ensuring a lasting legacy when the day comes for him to step aside has been at the forefront of his mind for many years and throughout the recent negotiations.

Everton’s pursuit of outside investment has gone on for more than a decade but there has been a growing feeling that the potential shown by Roberto Martínez’s emerging side – allied to the vast wealth in English football secured by the new TV deal - has made the club more attractive than in previous seasons.

Everton crave funds to subsidise ambitious stadium plans, although any new owner will inherit a delicate situation determining whether to redevelop Goodison Park or provide the investment to ensure potential sites such as nearby Walton Hall Park are feasible for a new venue.