Two millionaire Evertonian businessmen and US firm MSP Sports Capital will be targeted as potential buyers if Farhad Moshiri axes his deal with 777 Partners.

Dealmakers believe Liverpudlian investors Andy Bell and George Downing, who already have money tied up in the club, would be seriously interested in at least part-ownership. The pair could be approached to form a consortium with MSP, one insider suggested, as the chances diminish of Miami-based 777 assuming control.

On Thursday the club’s manager Sean Dyche laid bare grim prospects facing his team if no deal is finalised this summer, saying he could be left “juggling dust”. He even raised the nightmare prospect of being forced to sell one of his most valuable assets to generate funds.

“If the takeover doesn’t happen, or a takeover, then it will probably be juggling dust, not sand,” said Dyche, putting rival clubs on alert for the likes of in-demand Jarrad Branthwaite.

Bell and Downing’s potential interest came to light after the financial news service Bloomberg first reported that MSP, one of the leading lenders for the club’s new stadium, is pondering major investment options for the second time in a year.

Moshiri’s initial agreement to sell his 94.1 per cent stake to 777 last September had materialised after an alternative minority investment deal with MSP Capital collapsed.

MSP, in partnership with Bell and Downing, have £160 million debt remaining in the club after a prior loan was agreed, however. It was a condition in the Premier League approval process that 777 must clear that amount before completing the purchase – but payment is now overdue.

Dyche: ‘If you buy low, who are you buying?’

With Moshiri now seriously considering pulling the plug on 777’s protracted takeover, Dyche expressed concern at further delays. “If there is no takeover of any kind and it stays as it is now, then we have to self-generate,” he explained. “And if you self-generate it is a very tough situation because usually you sell high and you buy low. But when you buy low, who are you buying? 

“And if you can’t buy then you have to generate from inside and that is a time thing.

“There are not many young players who are ‘right, we are ready for the Premier League’. There was the famous Man United team but that is once. No one else has ever got five or six players together and got them to take the team forward. No one, and think about how much money goes into youth departments.”

MSP’s other sporting interests

With 777 descending into legal turmoil in recent weeks, Everton has held talks with restructuring advisers to explore other funding arrangements and Moshiri has been holding face-to-face crisis talks with the Miami firm.

A complicating factor, as Moshiri weighs up his next move, is that 777 has paid about £190 million on operational costs since striking an agreement to buy the club.

New York-based MSP abandoned investment in Everton last year because of complications surrounding the club’s other debts. Its other investments include a stake in the McLaren Formula One team, and European football clubs such as Brondby in Denmark, Augsburg of Germany and Estoril in Portugal.

The firm is headed by Jeff Moorad, a former sports agent who was previously a part-owner and chief executive officer of both the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres baseball teams. Moorad founded MSP in 2019 with chairman Jahm Najafi, who is vice-chairman of the Phoenix Suns and has a stake in the basketball team separately.

Bell, an actuary by training, founded AJ Bell in Manchester in 1995 during the early days of the internet. The company, which offers online platforms for do-it-yourself investors and financial advisers to manage investments, had more than £74.1 billion in clients assets when Bell stood back from the firm in 2022.

Downing, meanwhile, is a property magnate, who founded Downing Construction. The pair have been business allies for years and are believed to be owed about £200 million by Everton after ploughing in cash to help the club during a torrid period.