Retaining top talent is a challenge for established Premier League clubs even when they are performing well, Everton chief executive officer Angus Kinnear has said. Speaking to BBC Radio Merseyside, Kinnear acknowledged the challenges Everton and clubs of their size face, as he attempts to retain attacker Iliman Ndiaye and re-sign last season's loanee Jack Grealish. "Our vision is very much that our best players like Ndiaye are retained, play at the club and help us achieve what we all want to achieve," said Kinnear.
"I really hope that at he's with us for many years to come but you've seen at Newcastle, Aston Villa, clubs who are performing well, retaining top talent is challenging and that is a challenge that Everton also face." Premier League sides are subject to squad cost ratio limits, which means they are limited to spending 85% of their total revenue on their playing staff, while Uefa's limit for clubs playing in Europe is 70%. Everton were deducted eight points in the 2023-24 season after breaching the profit and sustainability rules that were in place at that time. The influential Ndiaye, 26, has been linked with a move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal, having scored six goals and made three assists last season.
Newcastle have sold key midfielders Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali plus attacker Anthony Gordon this summer, while Aston Villa, who qualified for this season's Champions League, have sold Morgan Rogers to Chelsea. "I do think it's important that those financial foundations are in place both from an SCR [squad cost ratio] perspective so you're operating within the financial rules," Kinnear added. "Everton have seen probably better than anybody what happens when that goes wrong.
The challenge that the clubs of Everton's size have is trying to be ambitious in terms of your spend but also trying to do that on a sustainable way. "It's not about having one year of success. You see some of the challenges that Aston Villa and Newcastle are experiencing now after two or three years of success.
"We do it in a sustainable way. That will mean that we won't have a transfer window where we blow the doors off and put the club at risk from an SCR perspective." Grealish, 30, made 22 appearances for Everton last season before his season was ended by injury in January and he remains with parent club Manchester City, for whom he came on as a half-time substitute in Sunday's Community Shield defeat to Arsenal. "Jack is a player we've remained in contact with.
It was no secret that he decided to have his rehabilitation done here for the remainder of last season when he didn't have to do that," said Kinnear. "He's a player who's fallen in love with the right shade of blue but ultimately he's a Manchester City player at the moment and we need to respect that. The most important thing is he's back.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
