By Kieran Maguire

29th Nov, 2021 | 8:21am

Kieran Maguire issues '£498m' Everton 'investment' reveal

Everton will need to shed some of the players that cost them an astronomical £498million before they can afford new signings.

That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the Toffees’ financial fair play predicament.

As per the Liverpool Echo on 27 November, Rafael Benitez revealed that he has had a “conversation about different targets” with Marcel Brands.

But the manager and director of football know they are severely limited in the transfer market because of the club’s mammoth losses in recent years.

Everton spent just £1.7million over the summer after posting a Premier League-record £139.9m shortfall for the last accounting year.

Maguire questioned the Merseysiders’ recruitment history and predicted that old players will leave before new ones come in.

“I think they will have to wait for some contracts to expire,” he told Football Insider correspondent Adam Williams.

“They might also have to sell some players if they want to invest in the short term. That unfortunately is just the reality with financial fair play.

“The problem with Everton is that their wage bill has gone up by £100m since 2013.

“Since 2014, the cost of Everton’s squad has gone from £74m to £498m. That investment has been hit and miss, to say the least.”

Everton are in freefall in the Premier League after a seven-match winless run.

Benitez’s side find themselves 14th in the table, six points outside the relegation places.

In other news, pundit claims Benitez will be “gone by Christmas” if Everton collapse continues.