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Everton handed transfer clue by Roma record deals and net spend ahead of takeover
With Everton confirming that a period of exclusivity has been granted to Dan Friedkin over a potential takeover of the club, the US billionaire’s tenure in charge of Roma could provide clues over a potential future transfer strategy with the Blues.
The Friedkin Group have now entered into a period of exclusivity with Moshiri which will allow them time to conduct due diligence on the club and its financial health. People familiar with the matter have told the ECHO that while there is a will on both sides to reach a positive conclusion it is not a deal that is set in stone as things stand.
Born in San Diego, California, Friedkin is ranked at number 270 on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a daily ranking of the world’s richest people, and is calculated as having a net worth of $9.2billion (approximately £7.27billion). The 59-year-old is CEO and owner of Gulf States Toyota, a position he has held since he was 35 when his then 65-year-old father Tom, who had founded the company in 1969, handed over the reins to him.
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Friedkin, who is a third-generation member of a dynasty of aviators, is a skilled pilot who personally flew both former Everton striker Romelu Lukaku and head coach Jose Mourinho into the Italian capital when they joined Roma. He purchased the club from fellow American James Pallotta on August 6, 2020 after eight months of negotiations but how does his recruitment record stack up?
On-field performance
On the day that Friedkin penned the preliminary contract to purchase Roma for $591million, the team lost 2-0 to eventual tournament winners Sevilla in one-off round of 16 Europa League round of 16 tie played behind closed doors due to coronavirus restrictions in Duisburg, Germany. The delayed finish to their 2019/20 Serie A season had come five days earlier as a 3-1 win at Juventus – their fourth straight victory – ensured they finished fifth in the table.
Friedkin’s first season at the helm – again without crowds – saw Roma slump to seventh, which was their lowest position for nine years, but since then with fans back inside the stadiums they have been consistent by posting three consecutive sixth-place finishes.
Spending
The deals to make loan signings Gianluca Mancini (€24million) and Jordan Veretout (€17.5m) into permanent switches (the two biggest outlays of Friedkin’s first transfer window in charge of Roma) had both been agreed before his takeover was complete. English centre-back Chris Smalling had also been on loan but in October 2020, Roma bought him too for an initial €15million fee with a gross outlay of €75.1m for 2020/21 while their transfer income was €49m for a net spend of €26.1m.
Friedkin’s first full summer in charge saw Roma splash out over €132m with their biggest buy another Englishman in the shape of Chelsea centre-forward Tammy Abraham who cost €41m. Other significant purchases included Marash Kumbulla (€26.5m) and Eldor Shomurodov (€19.6m) and with €17.24 recouped, Roma’s net spend was €114.81m.
Spending then went from boom to bust though as in 2022/23, Zeki Celik (€7.4m) was the club’s only significant purchase and with Nicolo Zaniolo, Veretout, Pau Lopez and Cengiz Under all heading out of the door for eight-figure fees, Roma actually made a trading profit of €63.92m. That trend continued last season with €10m man Tommaso Baldanzi the team’s only buy (although they paid Chelsea €5.8m to loan Lukaku) and with Roger Ibanez leading the exits with a lucrative €30m move to Saudi outfit Al-Ahli, the club were again in the black for deals done to the tune of €63.2m.
In the dugout
Friedkin inherited Portuguese coach Paulo Fonseca – who was linked to Everton at various times during Farhad Moshiri’s tenure – with the former Shakhtar Donetsk boss arriving the previous summer. Fonseca announced his departure at the end of the 2020/21 season and was replaced by his compatriot Jose Mourinho who had been axed by Tottenham Hotspur six weeks earlier.
The self-styled ‘Special One’ steered Roma to success in the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League and remained in charge for three-and-a-half seasons before being sacked in January this year. After initially going for a marquee appointment, Friedkin then replaced Mourinho with a club icon in the shape of local lad and former Roma midfielder Danielle De Rossi who had played 616 matches for his home city side.
