Premier League rivals of Aston Villa and Wolves confirm major takeover news

One of Aston Villa and Wolves’ Premier League rivals will be boosted by new ownership ahead of the January transfer window.

Aston Villa have started the season with mixed results with two victories and two defeats from their opening four matches. But one of their notable high-points so far is a comprehensive 4-0 win over Everton.

The Villains are also hoping to achieve success on the domestic stage and Unai Emery will be aiming to guide his team to their first major trophy since 1996. That mission begins with a third round Carabao Cup tie against Everton which will once again take place in front of the Villa Park faithful.

Aston Villa are likely to enter the tie as favourites but Everton fans may enter the game with a renewed sense of optimism as the club confirms some crucial takeover news.

The Toffees have been owned by Farhad Moshiri since 2016 and he initially invested huge money on new recruits to boost his side’s European ambitions. But his plan failed to materialise in the Premier League and the Blues consistently underachieved despite appointing big name managers such as Carlo Ancelotti, Ronald Koeman and Marco Silva. While also signing big names such as James Rodriguez, Wayne Rooney and Gylfi Sigurdsson.

In recent years Everton have invested much less in their playing staff and the club has rapidly fallen down the table- having only scraped survival in both of the last two seasons.

A similar pattern seemed to be emerging this year and the Blues have looked short of end product in the final third and vulnerable at the back - this was optimised early in the season in Villa’s 4-0 rout over the Blues.

In recent seasons the Moshiri reign has been dominated by vitriolic protests and fan unrest that was seen on the club’s final game last season as Everton survived the drop against Bournemouth.

Plans to sell Everton have been ongoing behind the scenes for a number of months but it appears a deal has finally been reached for the takeover with 777 Partners taking a 94% stake in the club.

The BBC reports that the sale is expected to be completed by the end of 2023, subject to Premier League, Football Association and Financial Conduct Authority approval.

Moshiri said in a statement: "The nature of ownership and financing of top football clubs has changed immeasurably since I first invested in Everton over seven years ago.

"The days of an owner/benefactor are seemingly out of reach for most, and the biggest clubs are now typically owned by well-resourced private equity firms, specialist sports investors or state-backed companies and funds."

77 founder Josh Wander said: "We are truly humbled by the opportunity to become part of the Everton family as custodians of the club, and consider it a privilege to be able to build on its proud heritage and values.

"Our primary objective is to work with fans and stakeholders to develop the sporting and commercial infrastructure for the men’s and women’s teams that will deliver results for future generations of Everton supporters."

Everton’s next Premier League meeting with Aston Villa takes place during the January transfer window and it is likely that The Blues owners will want to introduce a few new players in that window to boost their survival hopes.