“It is more important that we work than talk.” That was one of Dan Friedkin’s first lines to Roma supporters after his Friedkin Group completed its takeover of the Serie A giants.

Four years later, he has added Everton to his portfolio and those words are as informative now as they were then. The new owners of the Blues prefer to let their actions do the speaking, an approach that has been clear throughout their passage through the Premier League’s scrutiny of their plans.

The silence of the US organisation since that process started in September has been deafening, a stark contrast to the loud and showy style of Everton’s former suitors, 777 Partners, whose eight month pursuit ended with the Miami-based outfit’s implosion.

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The sense of professionalism embodied by the Friedkins’ preference to keep their operation behind closed doors will bring hope to Blues staff and supporters that a new period of calm and stability lies ahead. Even putting aside hopes of future success, a club that has a clear direction and a clear structure of command would represent progress: Gone should be the days of high-level staff in the Liver Building and football chiefs at Finch Farm learning of breaking club news from the media while they wait for answers from London or Monaco.

The Friedkins have been notoriously tough to read since taking over at Roma in 2020 and even on this momentous occasion, their communications have been measured and reserved. But this does not mean that clues over their ambitions and approach can not be drawn from the work of Dan Friedkin and his son, Ryan Friedkin, who has also been a prominent figure in the Eternal City.

Indeed the pair provided answers together in the first interview provided following their takeover in Rome - one given to club media. They said lots that will chime with what Blues will want to see after the turbulence of the Farhad Moshiri years, prizing patience, hard work and a desire for club affairs not to be played out in public. Don’t expect Dan Friedkin to suddenly appear on Sky Sports or Talksport to unload his thoughts.

“We are big believers in stability and culture”, Dan told supporters through his new employees in Italy. “This is important in our existing businesses, and it’s critically important in football. We try to identify, and more importantly support, strong management. We prefer to be seen rather than heard, and for this reason we have empowered our leadership.”

What has been clear at Roma is that the Friedkins do not pretend to be experts in football. They have maintained an active and present role at the club but their approach has been - and likely will be at Everton - to appoint football people to manage what happens on the pitch.

The Friedkins may prefer to work in private but they have not been afraid of statement moves at Roma. As perhaps should not be a surprise given Dan Friedkin’s dalliance with Hollywood - as well as investing in the world of entertainment he has also performed as a stunt pilot, including landing a Spitfire in the Oscar-winning Dunkirk - he has not been averse to the odd piece of theatre and showmanship.

The Freidkins’ time at Roma has seen them strive - so far unsuccessfully - for the Champions League cash needed to fuel their ambitions to regularly compete for silverware. But each season has been characterised by a big signing. After their first, it was the appointment of Jose Mourinho. Twelve months later around 10,000 supporters gathered for the arrival of star striker Paulo Dybala. Then, last year, Friedkin flew in another big name signing, former Everton striker Romelu Lukaku, before this summer spending big on Ukraine international Artem Dovbyk.

Two lessons can be taken from that activity - the first, that the Friedkins will not be reluctant to provide excitement nor be daunted by big names potentially signing for Everton. The second is that, when those deals are looked at in more detail, they are not characteristic of the reckless spending of the Moshiri years that left Everton in crisis.

Dybala was a free agent and Lukaku was a loan signing - these were clever deals by a club that needed to operate stringently despite the extensive resources of their owners. Experience of acting savvy in the transfer market will be useful at Everton, where the squad needs improvement but where the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Regulations will still, initially, limit how much can be spent. The Friedkins are well-versed in the perils of financial rules having brushed with authorities in Italy, albeit due to issues rooted in the club’s past.

Judging the success of the Friedkins in Rome depends largely on perspective. They have achieved silverware - Mourinho delivering the Europa Conference League in 2022 - and have repeatedly reached the later stages of the Europa League. But they have not yet broken into the top tier of Serie A to access the Champions League money needed to fund the progress that is so desperately wanted.

They have also been stung. For all the stability it has been their intention to provide, 2024 has been a year of turbulence that will end with the club being led by interim manager Claudio Ranieri - their fourth boss of the year.

Club legend Daniele de Rossi replaced Mourinho, was backed in the summer but then sacked just weeks into the current season. His replacement, Ivan Juric, has already come and gone. With de Rossi, the Friedkins have tasted the risks and rewards of utilising a club legend in a time of need. At first, his appointment brought supporters on side and stabilised the club after the exit of Mourinho. His initial success in the role led to an extended deal but when it quickly turned sour it dented the Friedkins’ projection of stability and turned sections of a passionate fanbase against the owners.

The Stadio Olimpico has been a place of protest this season with some supporters expressing anger at the treatment of de Rossi and concern over what such a sharp U-turn meant for the direction of the club and the fortitude of those running it. The move for Everton, which broke around the same time, stoked those fires as fans began to fear what the expansion would mean for their club. That is a question as yet unanswered, but which will now be pertinent to supporters of the new sister-clubs - what is the relationship between them?

The turmoil of late summer forced the Friedkins into sending a message to supporters, another statement issued through the club website. They sought to provide reassurance over the bid for Everton and added: “We acknowledge the immense responsibility we bear in leading this historic club. Your unwavering loyalty fuels us as we continue building for the future. We value your voices and want you to know — we hear you. You are the soul of this club, and we are determined to make you proud.”

The hope at Everton has to be that the Friedkins have learned from their experiences in Rome and will apply those lessons on Merseyside. One might be that genuine engagement with a passionate fanbase makes the relationship stronger - Everton have respected supporter organisations that can act as channels for discourse and, while professionalism will be respected, it is not unfair for fans to expect some insight from those in charge of the clubs they have loved long before their arrival, and will do so long after their departure. Initial signs have been positive on that front with the new ownership expressing an intention to engage.

Another lesson that may have been taken is that money and stability do not always lead to immediate success. Everton is a club of huge potential and there are many easy wins available to its new owners. But while taking the club out of a perpetual fight for survival should be straightforward, creating an institution that can break into the top half of the Premier League and sustain that progress will require a lot of work - and some luck.

There is evidence the Friedkins are adapting in Rome. Mourinho is not a ‘project’ manager and his appointment perhaps pointed to a lust for initial success - which he did bring. But work must go deeper to maintain it.

In the aftermath of the de Rossi chaos, Roma’s sporting director Florent Ghisolfi offered insight into how the Friedkins were now approaching their work at the club, pointing to the desire to create a structure that could survive change in the dugout - a club where the approach would be dictated to the manager and not by him.

“We want to build a club that is not dependent on a coach, a sports director, on anyone”, Ghisolfi said. “For this reason we prefer to focus on building a staff… the goal is to ensure that when even a director or a coach leaves the club, the organisation is not affected. It is unusual for a coach and the CEO to leave the club in the same week, now we are looking for that stability.”

Such words will resonate deeply at Everton, where one of the characteristics of the flawed Moshiri years was the violent swing in direction that came amid recurring changes of directors of football and managers. What will be interesting is what that will mean for current Blues director of football Kevin Thelwell.

Thelwell is out of contract in the summer and his role will be the most important and pressing of the Friedkins’ priorities on the football side of the club. With Sean Dyche and 13 - more than half - of the senior squad currently due to leave Everton in the summer, Everton need direction from that position.

As someone who has launched his own attempt at overhauling Finch Farm to create stability despite the challenges he has faced, his vision will now come under scrutiny as the club’s new owners work out whether to buy into Thelwell’s project or launch one of their own.

As for Dyche, his position will be a constant source of speculation until it is resolved. In Rome, it was almost a full season before Mourinho was announced to the genuine surprise of the football world.

The Friedkins could bide their time once again. They know Everton face immediate challenges they cannot be complacent over, and may be reluctant to create even more instability during a period of transition. Their hand could be forced by results, ambition or other clubs threatening to steal a march on their long term targets, however.