Liverpool

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Crystal Palace co-owner John Textor has expressed an interesting in buying Everton.

The American businessman has told the Financial Times Palace is no longer an ideal fit for his multi-club portfolio as he is unable to acquire a majority shareholding.

Everton's takeover by 777 Partners continues to develop in the face of fan pressure for owner Farhad Moshiri to seek alternative buyers.

Asked if he had held talks about buying Everton, Textor told The Athletic: "Yes. With the existing constituents - different groups, different lenders, different equity holders.

"I've asked them 'Is there a way to solve all this confusion and address everyone's problems'?

"I'm very open-minded to it but I don't want to come into a situation where I'm not really welcome.

"I'm watching it but 777 still has a contract. There are people that are close to the club who care a lot about it who are also investing. There's the guy running it who's still calling the shots. Maybe we're uniquely positioned to solve a lot of problems for people but we're just watching it right now because there are other people who already own pieces of that club who also want to figure it out.

"I'm looking at that but it's quite confusing and some things have to clean up."

Textor's Eagle Football group has interests in French club Lyon, Botafogo in Brazil and RWD Molenbeek in Belgium.

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Liverpool's season saw the breakthrough of 'Klopp's kids' because of the volume of injuries suffered.

Through the course of the 2023-24 Premier League season, the Reds recorded 35 separate injuries that affected 21 of their 26-man squad.

Research conducted for more than 20 years by the Premier Injuries website, external suggests that the total number of individual injuries across the league, where a player missed at least one Premier League game, was the highest they had recorded.

Many players suffered more than one injury.

And although those 35 injuries had an effect on Jurgen Klopp's final season, eight clubs suffered more, including Manchester United who topped the list with 45.

In Liverpool's worst-hit game week they had nine players absent and in total their injured players missed a combined total of 1,383 days.

Read the full breakdown of injuries in the 2023-24 Premier League season

We asked you how Everton should strengthen the squad this summer on a budget.

Here are some of your answers:

Johnny: Free transfer window could boost our short term squad deficiencies. In defence Ben Johnson of West ham offers full-back cover, Wilfred Ndidi of Leicester and his team-mate Kelechi Iheanacho might prove savvy additions while Ross Barkley, Josh Brownhill and Che Adams are other options. Another loan for Jack Harrison seems sensible also.

John: Recruitment will have to be bargain bin and loans and out of contract players unless a new owner can pump some money in.

Richard: Budget strengthening can’t just be trusted pros in their mid thirties. We need to bring a couple of youngsters through. Also get the scouts out and around Europe. Players are out there somewhere and obviously a couple of choice loan players.

Jim: A new keeper, two centre-forwards and a right winger and don't sell Jarrad Branthwaite, job done. When the new players arrive, pack Pickford, Calvert-Lewin and Beto's bags and change the locks.

Liverpool have turned their attention to Leeds United's Dutch winger Crysencio Summerville, 22, after opting against moving for Newcastle United and England winger Anthony Gordon, 23. (90 Min), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin is a target for Newcastle United, who also have West Ham forward Jarrod Bowen on their wish list. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

We asked for your views on what should be first on Arne Slot's to-do list after replacing Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager.

Here are some of your responses:

Rick: Slot and FSG need to extend the contracts of Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold and, if possible, Mohamed Salah, but if he won't sign an extension, then they need to sell and use the profit on an attacking right-winger. We need depth at centre-back and probably an understudy at right-back if Alexander-Arnold moves to midfield.

Mark: 1. Get Trent to sign a new contract. 2. Sell Mo to pay for Trent's new contract. 3. Sign a new striker.

Will: Replace Darwin Nunez with a player who will not only score goals but also let Salah return to his former role closer to goal. Figure out where Trent wants to play. Bring in a strong left-sided centre-back who can eventually replace Van Dijk. The rest is peachy - we just need players to stay fit and keep developing.

Ken: Slot's first point of business will be to secure the futures of Van Dijk, Alexander-Arnold, Salah and Alisson to avoid unnecessary conjecture. A dynamic defensive midfielder such as Ederson at Atalanta will be required along with a few smart additions to the squad.

Jim: Slot needs to make us more difficult to play against so a top central defender and tough defensive midfielder are top priority along with a more clinical striker to convert more of the many chances we make into goals. Subject to the current players who might leave, Slot should go for three new signings and renewing team spirit.

Rob: Liverpool need a solid, boring, defensive midfielder who can play the majority of games with Wataru Endo as back up. Up front we need to find a way to get 30 games a season out of Diogo Jota - otherwise we need to bring in a finisher. Unfortunately Nunez and Luis Diaz can’t be relied on to put away the big chances in a tight game. No idea what to do with Salah or Alexander-Arnold.

For a team with Everton’s rich and illustrious history, finishing 15th in the Premier League table doesn’t seem to be something to be getting too carried away with it.

But it really is worth bearing in mind that a few short weeks ago, Everton were amongst the favourites to be relegated. In the end Sean Dyche engineered a remarkable revival that saw them end the season with 40 points, even after an eight-point deduction.

Never mind the on-the-field difficulties the PSR related deductions brought about, it also cost the club the thick end of £10m in Premier League merit payments that are related to where you finish in the table. How useful would that money have been to Dyche, to strengthen the squad?

The biggest success for the club this season

It might be indicative of just how far the mighty have fallen, but make no mistake about it, avoiding relegation is without doubt the biggest success for the team and the club this season. Lesser teams and managers might well have buckled under the strain of two desperate Premier League points deductions as well as a seemingly endless catalogue of negative stories surrounding the ownership of the club.

If Everton the club has lost its way in recent years for many and various reasons, Everton the team have again showed a relentless appetite to get the job done and to make sure that the Premier League sanctity of the club is preserved.

Biggest let down and frustration

In a campaign when “A Plague On All Your Houses” visited Everton, your spoilt for choice when looking for frustration and let downs that have hampered the season. But in the end one dark and dangerous episode stands head and shoulders above anything else. Or should I say two dark and dangerous episodes ?

The Premier League and its Independent Commission’s brought football down to a new low with the way they sought to punish Everton for wanting to get better on and off the field. Of course financial rules need to be adhered to, but the League and the commission’s lack of understanding of a multi layered series of extenuating circumstances, paints them in a particularly poor light.

Quite how going into administration is worthy of a nine point deduction, but Everton’s charges and penalties were initially worth a ten point penalty, shows just how unfit for purpose PSR has proved to be. Never mind the independent commission that act as the arbiters of it.

Too much of how Richard Masters has operated during his time as the Premier League chief executive, has smacked of 'making it up as you go along'. He really should be doing much, much better.

Key Item on the summer agenda

This has to be the resolution of the farcical situation surrounding the future ownership of the club.

Farhad Moshiri wants to sell the club, but his preferred owners, 777 Partners, don’t seem to have either the financial muscle to complete the deal or the business acumen that would give you any real confidence in their ability to get the club back on a firmer footing.

Moshiri has extended his deadline for 777 Partners to come up with the money and and meet the conditions laid down by the Premier League for them to be able to complete the purchase.

That new deadline is 31 May.

If they fail to meet the necessary requirements then MSP Capital and Liverpool born businessmen Andy Bell and George Downing could step in. There are rumours of other interested parties, but only rumours.

Given that there’s a state of the art new stadium taking shape on the Mersey waterfront, Everton need new owners with vision, ambition and common sense, and not forgetting pretty deep pockets.

How would you strengthen Everton on a budget this summer? Tell us here, external

With Liverpool the expectations are always sky high, and so a title challenge is expected, and up until the closing weeks of the season, they were right in the mix.

There's slight disappointment they lost ground, but with a third place finish, 82 points and a Carabao Cup victory, the season can be definitely viewed as one of success, progress and development. Qualification for the Champions League puts the club back among the elite of Europe and will give the new manager a strong platform to work from.

Biggest success for club this season?

Jurgen Klopp was always good at giving youth its chance, and this past season was no exception. Conor Bradley and Jarell Quansah in particular have been superb and will be a big part of the new era, and Harvey Elliott will be pushing for regular starts from now on.

Biggest let down or frustration?

I suppose the biggest disappointment was the day Klopp announced he was leaving! There’ll be a frustration that too many goals were conceded in the final games of the campaign, and that vital points were lost but overall it was a good season with an emotional finale.

Key item on the summer agenda?

Arne Slot has the unenviable task of replacing Klopp, and how he goes about that will be fascinating. Will he want to add players to the squad? And where would those additions fit in assuming no major departures? Finding a place for Conor Bradley and thus accommodating Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield is something many have discussed. But overall it’s a fresh start with a new manager and a new backroom staff. If that transition is seamless, Slot will have a great chance to be successful and put his own stamp on things.

What should be first on Slot's to-do list? Tell us here, external