Roma provides Everton with transfer information, including record deals and net cost, ahead of the acquisition

A look at prospective Everton owner Dan Friedkin’s recruitment approach for Roma

With Everton stating that Dan Friedkin has been granted exclusivity over a potential acquisition of the club, the US billionaire’s time in control of Roma could provide insight into a possible future transfer plan with the Blues.

The Friedkin Group has now gone into a period of exclusivity with Moshiri, giving them time to do due diligence on the club’s financial condition. People familiar with the situation have told the ECHO that, while all sides want to reach a favorable ending, the agreement is not set in stone as things stand.

Friedkin was born in San Diego, California, and is ranked 270th on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a daily ranking of the world’s richest people, with a net worth of $9.2 billion (roughly £7.27 billion). The 59-year-old is Gulf States Toyota’s CEO and owner, a position he has held since he was 35, when his then-65-year-old father Tom, who founded the firm in 1969, passed over the reins to him.

Friedkin, a third-generation member of an aviator family, is a skillful pilot who personally flew former Everton player Romelu Lukaku and head coach Jose Mourinho to the Italian city when they joined Roma. He bought the club from fellow American James Pallotta on August 6, 2020, following eight months of negotiations, but how does his recruitment record compare?

On-field performance.

On the same day that Friedkin signed the preliminary contract to purchase Roma for $591 million, the team fell 2-0 to eventual tournament winners Sevilla in a one-off Europa League round of 16 clash played behind closed doors due to coronavirus limitations in Duisburg, Germany. The delayed end to their 2019/20 Serie A season came five days earlier, when they won 3-1 at Juventus, their fourth consecutive victory, to finish fifth in the table.

Friedkin’s first season in charge, again without crowds, saw Roma drop to seventh, their lowest position in nine years, but since then, with fans back inside the stadiums, they have been consistent, finishing in sixth place three times in a row.

Spending

The deals to convert loan signings Gianluca Mancini (€24 million) and Jordan Veretout (€17.5 million) into permanent transfers (the two largest outlays in Friedkin’s first transfer window in charge of Roma) were agreed upon before his takeover was completed. English centre-back Chris Smalling was also on loan, but Roma acquired him in October 2020 for an initial €15 million fee, resulting in a gross outlay of €75.1 million for 2020/21, with a transfer revenue of €49 million and a net spend of €26.1 million.

In Friedkin’s first full summer in command, Roma spent more than €132 million, with their most expensive purchase coming in the form of Chelsea centre-forward Tammy Abraham for €41 million. Other big purchases included Marash Kumbulla (€26.5 million) and Eldor Shomurodov (€19.6 million), with €17.24 recovered.

Spending then moved from boom to crash, although in 2022/23, Zeki Celik (€7.4 million) was the club’s only substantial buy, and with Nicolo Zaniolo, Veretout, Pau Lopez and Cengiz Despite receiving eight-figure fees, Roma achieved a trading profit of €63.92 million. That pattern continued last season, with €10 million player Tommaso Baldanzi the team’s only acquisition (although they paid Chelsea €5.8 million to loan Lukaku), and with Roger Ibanez leading the exits with a lucrative €30 million move to Saudi outfit Al-Ahli, the club was once again in the red with €63.2 million in transactions completed.

Friedkin took over Portuguese coach Paulo Fonseca, who had been linked to Everton at several points throughout Farhad Moshiri’s tenure, after the former Shakhtar Donetsk manager arrived the previous summer. Fonseca announced his departure at the end of the 2020/21 season, and was replaced by his compatriot Jose Mourinho, who was fired by Tottenham Hotspur six weeks prior.

The self-styled ‘Special One’ guided Roma to victory in the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League and stayed in command for three and a half seasons before being fired in January of this year. After initially looking for a blockbuster hiring, Friedkin replaced Mourinho with a club icon in the form of local kid and former Roma player Danielle De Rossi, who had played 616 games for his hometown club.