Jordan Pickford leads £250m Everton firesale if relegated as Toffees make plan

Sean Dyche surprised by scoreline as Everton thrash Brighton

Everton are reportedly planning to sell £250million worth of players this summer if they are relegated. Several of their stars have already been linked with moves when the season draws to a close and interest is expected to be rife if the Toffees drop to the Championship.

Sean Dyche’s side moved out of the relegation zone last weekend with a shock 5-1 victory away at Brighton, and supporters will be hoping that the win will kickstart a late resurgence. However, with a home match against Manchester City on Sunday, the Toffees’ revival may be put on ice in the short term.

Just two points separate Everton from 19th-placed Leeds United, with Leicester City separating the struggling duo. All three clubs will be unwillingly considering the outcome of a worst-case scenario this summer and which players may need to be sold.

Everton are no exception, and The Sun report that the Goodison Park outfit are hoping to raise up to £250m in sales if they do face the dreaded drop. Jordan Pickford, recently linked with Tottenham and Manchester United, is one of the stars that is expected to be sold, despite penning a new contract with the club earlier this year.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Dwight McNeil and Alex Iwobi are also cited as likely candidates to be offloaded given that they have proven themselves in the Premier League. Amadou Onana has also attracted plenty of interest – with clubs pushing in January – and the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal remain keen on his situation.

Everton, of course, will hope that their star players will remain at the club if they survive the drop and will commit to working with Dyche to push on next season. Though the ex-Burnley boss has admitted that when planning for the future, he has to be ‘fluid’ and appreciate the different scenarios.

Dyche has spoken about conversations he has recently held with Kevin Thelwell, Everton’s director of football, about the plans for next season, explaining: “There are some outlines I’ve been speaking to Kevin Thelwell about – some background at the club and thoughts. But at the end of the day, it still comes down to what’s happening now.

“We all know the noise when I got here: ‘Everton are done for this season’ and we’ve obviously shown there is more life in what we’re doing. We’ve got to take that on until the end of the season, we know that and that does change things quite obviously. Being in the Premier League is a different viewpoint but there are some background chats about what will be needed because you have to continue and make sure they’re in place. It’s a fluid business, a fluid industry.”

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