What Claudio Ranieri said about Dan Friedkin should calm Everton nerves after takeover worry

Claudio Ranieri believes prospective new Everton owner Dan Friedkin may have learned important lessons during a turbulent spell leading Roma.

The 73-year-old has been appointed as the third manager of the season in Rome after a chaotic start to the campaign that has sparked concern about what Friedkin’s ability to bring stability to the Blues, should his takeover be signed off.

But in his first press conference since returning to the Eternal City, Ranieri provided comments that might ease some nerves on Merseyside, suggesting Friedkin was someone who cared deeply about his football clubs and who was taking note of his mistakes.

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Ranieri, who won the Premier League as Leicester City boss, said: "If you know me, you know that I speak face to face. I can say that I was amazed by how much he cares about Roma and about Rome. Now it's up to me, with my experience and my way of doing things, and I hope I can complete my mandate. When I heard those words, I couldn't say no."

He added the conversations that led to him replacing Ivan Juric, sacked last weekend just weeks after taking over from Daniele de Rossi, led him to place faith in Friedkin's intentions for the Serie A club. He said: "Imagine being in his place, having invested a boatload of money and seeing that things aren't going well. We are working to bring Roma back to where it deserves to be."

Ranieri, who has played for and managed Roma previously, implied some of the current issues in Rome, where fan protests have persisted after the dismissal of club legend de Rossi just weeks into the season and after a summer transfer window of heavy investment has been followed by the worst start to the league season in 20 years, derived from an ownership that rarely offered insight into its plans.

He said the decision to turn to him may be a sign that lessons are being learnt - ones that could help the expected transition into power at Everton. Ranieri concluded: "If he called me, it means that he realized (his mistakes). If there were people who… Well, he must have understood this, I didn’t tell him. Who was it that made a mistake? Who was it that did this? Why did that other thing happen? He told me, I want this, I want to take Roma to high levels. That’s why I called you. What more does a person have to say to me? He must have realized.”