Everton takeover news even surprised club officials - there was no hint when I was at Finch Farm

The heavens opened and then so did the downpour of queries that followed such a familiar theme. It is the start of a new season but it begins with old questions surrounding Everton.

And once again Sean Dyche was back at Finch Farm, sat in front of a collection of journalists, fielding questions about off-the-pitch issues beyond his influence.

Flash back a month and he could have been forgiven for thinking this was all over as he made the trip from the luxurious Carton House resort, just outside Dublin, to the west coast of Ireland and Seamus Coleman’s reunion with Sligo Rovers.

His talisman, James Tarkowski, may have been forced to leave Everton’s pre-season training camp early with a glute concern but, otherwise, the summer was going well. A busy week of training had included two double sessions and he was already scheming about how to deploy three new summer signings.

Then the news hit that the prospective takeover of the club by The Friedkin Group had fallen through and the uncertainty over the club’s ownership that had tainted his tenure on Merseyside was back.

That meant that, this afternoon, as the rain was pouring down outside the club’s training complex, he too was back, with a new sponsors board that now includes kit manufacturer Castore behind him, answering questions about club ownership, finances and majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri.

At one point Dyche used a phrase now so familiar to all of us. Those playing ‘Dyche bingo’ at home did not have to wait long to tick “control the controllables” from their line.

But he had a point - he cannot control the search for new investment and owners so his focus was on those matters that do fall under his influence.

Maybe, just maybe, things are about to change, however. It was shortly after the press conference concluded that reports broke of a potential breakthrough with Moshiri entering formal talks with US billionaire John Textor over the sale of the club.

We have been here before. Four exclusivity deals in two years have passed without true progress. And there are several significant hurdles facing any deal - from Textor’s need to sell his 45% share in Crystal Palace to his need to find a plan to deal with some of the more problematic areas of Everton’s debt.

There was nothing to suggest Dyche had any awareness of these talks as he sat before the media, indeed they came as a surprise to many key figures within the club.

But if the result is ultimately stability behind the scenes and no more questions about such complicated matters, then neither Dyche nor anyone associated with the Blues will likely care about when and how such a breakthrough was achieved.

The message at Finch Farm on Thursday was a positive one. No-one was hiding from the impact off-the-pitch issues could have and no-one was ignoring the shadow they cast over the new season.

But there is a genuine feeling of positivity and optimism on the football side. Those whose jobs are at Finch Farm ended last season with pride at what had been achieved.

Everton had secured survival far earlier than previous seasons, despite far greater obstacles, but in much more emphatic fashion.

The fever dream that was that exhilarating Merseyside win that essentially sealed Premier League safety was just one part of a season finale in which the fact the Blues probably would have finished in the top half without two unprecedented points deductions was not lost on anyone.

The progress felt behind closed doors by May has been built upon over the summer. Finances remain a constraint to team building and Dyche openly admitted he believes his squad is thinner than he would like should the wrong injuries flare at the wrong time.

But there is a sense of satisfaction that the club has channelled summer transfer business down the avenues it hoped - securing long-term targets, protecting Jarrad Branthwaite and bringing in good money for players Dyche could come to terms with losing.

That positive thread currently runs through Finch Farm and everything suggests it runs through parts of the fanbase too.

The atmosphere for the friendly with Roma was vibrant and in the final half an hour there was a buzz as the likes of Iliman Ndiaye provided a thrill of excitement felt too rarely in the stands over recent seasons.

That sense of optimism and hope was again palpable outside Finch Farm on Thursday afternoon, as dozens of families braved the roadworks around the estate to use what is left of the summer holidays to try and snag an autograph, chat or selfie with a departing player.

Such goodwill means Everton take momentum into the start of a poignant season. If they can build on it with a good start then it will ease the pressure on everyone at the club, with so many now so desperate for the headlines to finally be about what happens on the pitch.

Maybe, Moshiri is now one step closer to doing what he can to make that a reality. Maybe Dyche will not be facing questions about ownership and takeovers forever.