Everton's prospects of striking an investment deal with 777 Partners is now not something that will happen following news that they have reached an exclusivity agreement with MSP Capital, according to journalist Paul Brown.
What's the latest news involving Everton?
As per The Liverpool Echo, Everton owner Farhad Moshiri is 'inching closer' to closing a deal with MSP to give the Toffees some fresh investment, having entered an 'exclusivity agreement' that will last from a period of 30 to 60 days.
The report states that MSP will acquire a stake of 20-25% of Everton and will initially purchase preferential shares rather than equity and will also help to finance the building of the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.
BBC Sport understand that a deal is not yet completed; nevertheless, talks are said to be 'progressing further' and they have stumped 777 in their own efforts to perform a takeover of the club.
Everton need finance to be ploughed into the club as they wait on the results of being referred to an independent commission over 'potential breaches of the league’s profitability and sustainability guidelines'. However, the verdict of the Premier League's investigation will not be made clear until October, as per Football Insider.
Speaking to Football FanCast, journalist Brown has said that any deal with 777 is now 'off the table' due to MSP's exclusivity agreement.
Brown told FFC: "As far as I'm aware, any deal with 777 is currently off the table completely. MSP have a period of exclusivity with Everton and it does look like they want to proceed. The original offer from them was not dependent on which division Everton were in, so it doesn't in theory matter if Everton go down this weekend or not, it might affect the price they pay to buy in."
What next for Everton?
Everton face a massive final Premier League match this weekend and know that a win against Bournemouth will guarantee their top-flight safety for another season.
Sean Dyche will have to make do without right-back Nathan Patterson on Sunday and there is also concern over whether striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin will be able to feature, as per The Liverpool Echo.
Change could be in the winds on the blue half of Merseyside, with the Daily Record claiming that the Toffees have started to sound out potential replacements for manager Dyche.
Botafogo manager Luis Castro is believed to have had 'initial contact' with Everton over the possibility of replacing Dyche. However, it is unclear what the permutations of the long-term will be until full-time on Sunday as the Blues desperately try to secure their Premier League status.
If Dyche manages to keep Everton afloat, the 51-year-old will have achieved his remit set when he was brought to the club back in January and will have given a platform for the club to build on come 2023/24.