It was always going to be a huge task for Rafa Benitez to win over Everton supporters, but his cause isn’t being helped by the fact that Everton seemingly are unable to spend more money.
The Toffees have managed to sign Andros Townsend, Asmir Begovic and Demarai Gray, but the total outlay for the three players has only been in the region of £2m.
According to football finance expert, Kieran Maguire, their inability to sign more players is down to falling in line with Financial Fair Play.
“If you take a look at Everton’s accounts over the last few years they’ve had significant losses,” Maguire said to the Liverpool ECHO.
MORE: Klopp’s cryptic transfer update
“While I think Farhad Moshiri has the cash to spend, it’s not a case of won’t spend it’s more that they can’t spend. They are very much constricted by Financial Fair Play (FFP).
“They’ve had some very generous sponsorship deals from Alisher Usmanov’s empire which have helped them to stay within FFP but ultimately that catches up with you and they’re now in a position where they’ve got next to no wiggle room.”
Against the backdrop of not really being able to plunder the transfer market, Everton’s supporters can’t really expect too much this season, and, arguably, the blame shouldn’t be placed at Benitez’s door if that ends up being the case.
If, however, the Spaniard manages to keep the club competitive going into the second half of the season, there’s every reason to believe that Everton can push on from there.