Everton’s ‘multi-club’ project is now doomed to fail – Keith Wyness

Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness has claimed 777 Partners’ multi-club vision is set to fail as they have been “stretched too far”.

Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, the 66-year-old – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – suggested the 777 “house of cards is starting to fall down”.

The US-based investors agreed to buy Everton from Farhad Moshiri in September 2023 but the deal is yet to be approved by the Premier League amid concerns over their sources of funding.

Part of the promise of that agreement was the plan to put Everton at the centre of a multi-club network which currently includes Belgian side Standard Liege, German club Hertha Berlin and Italian outfit Genoa.

Everton multi-club network plans set to fail, says Wyness

However, Wyness claimed that Standard Liege have been put up for sale and suggested 777 could soon look to “extract value” from their investment in Hertha Berlin.

He told Football Insider‘s Insider Track podcast: “I think this shows problems in terms of being stretched too far.

“They built this multi-club organisation, with part of the promise being that there would be multiple feeder clubs for Everton.

“I believe they have put Standard Liege up for sale, and they will try and extract some value from the investment in Hertha Berlin.

“It’s difficult to see how they’re going to put it all together. People are saying that the house of cards is starting to fall down.

“If you’re going to build a multi-club organisation, you extend it – you don’t cut it down.

“Particularly with an asset as good as Standard Liege, with the flexible rules in Belgium for bringing foreign talent through.

“It would’ve been a big asset, but it looks like it’s not to be.”