Everton are up for sale despite some of the recent comments to come from Farhad Moshiri suggesting this may not be the case.
What's the latest?
According to the reliable journalist David Ornstein, the Toffees are up for sale with Moshiri likely to sell the club if the right offer was to land on Merseyside.
Ornstein has been speaking on the FIVE YouTube channel following the conclusion of the January transfer window which proved to be nothing short of a disaster for Everton:
(33:20) "There is this feeling within the industry that they like many clubs have always been for sale. What's not for sale in life? Not much everything has a price.
"But until that price is met, those in control of clubs like Everton in this case, are going to say that it is not for sale. There have also been suggestions that he's looking more for stadium financing partners.
"So, if something that was too good to refuse came in, I'm sure that Farhad Moshiri would heavily consider it. But at this moment in time, we don't have any evidence to suggest it is and so his ownership continues and he has to give off the right noises because he's the man in charge of running the club.
"But Everton fans will be dearly hoping that changes and I think in situations like this, it will be foolish of us to rule it out that an Everton takeover could happen and Farhad Moshiri could sell."
These comments from Ornstein come after Moshiri has played down the suggestion the Toffees are up for sale with reports claiming it would take an offer of over £500m for the club to be sold:
"The club is not for sale but I have been talking to top investors, really quality, to bridge a gap on the stadium. I can do it myself and the reason I want to do it is to bring top sport investors to Everton. We are close to having a deal done," Moshiri said.
On the market
It is intriguing to hear Ornstein's perspective of the situation on Merseyside in what is a difficult spell for all at Everton with things on and off the pitch not going the way the fans would have hoped.
The prospect of relegation is becoming increasingly intense with the Toffees only being held off the bottom of the table by their better goal difference than Southampton.
However, they are coming out of the January transfer window having seen their squad weakened by the board following the ale of Anthony Gordon to Newcastle United.
And as if that wasn't a big enough blow, they were unable to provide their new manager, Sean Dyche, with any new players for the remaining 18 games of the season.
And as Ornstein suggested, the club are set to make a big leap next year into their new state-of-the-art stadium which is being built on the docks.
However, potentially funding that stadium on the revenue brought in by Championship football is not something Moshiri would have envisioned when the plans were put in place.
So although he speaks about looking for external investment to help with the stadium, we do wonder whether he could look for an exit over the coming months as the fans' frustration builds.