Everton investment could still be on for Usmanov

Investment in Everton from Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov may still materialise after rumours he was set to buy Charlton Athletic were quashed.

Usmanov, 64, sold his shares in Arsenal to Stan Kroenke last month for a reported £600 million and, given Everton majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri is his business partner, a move to buy a stake in the Blues seems a viable next step.

He was linked earlier this week with a swoop for the South London club sitting tenth in League One, whose own owner, Roland Duchatelet, is extremely unpopular with the fans. Duchatelet is said to be keen to sell for roughly £20 million. CNBC has since reported, though, that a spokesperson for Usmanov has denied he will be spending his windfall on the Addicks.

Usmanov and Moshiri have worked together for more than a decade. They acquired a 14.5 per cent stake in Arsenal for £75 million in September 2007, but the Iranian sold his shares in the Gunners to launch a takeover at Goodison Park.

Moshiri initially bought a 49.9 per cent share in Everton in February 2016, but bought deputy chairman Jon Woods’ stake in the club earlier this year to increase his ownership to 58.8 per cent.

In January 2017, Usmanov’s holding company, USM Holdings, bought the naming rights to the Blues’ training ground, Finch Farm, in a five-year deal reportedly worth more than $15 million.