The bizarre thing about Everton's financial situation is their mental isolation.
They acted like they were alone in the COVID crisis, for a start.
Then they pretended that everyone else wasn't aware of their problems.
The problem with having to shift on players to generate funds is just that.
It's a problem that those trying to buy the players will know about.
You can expect reduced fees, as you have to sell.
There's also the weird fixation on what we paid for Richarlison, but not what other teams paid for their players (case in point, the Saudis paid under Anthony Gordon's value), but realistically the issue is just how many of their players have left on free transfers since 2021
2021: Yannick Bolasie, Josh King, Mo Besic, Theo Walcott
2022: Fabian Delph, Cenk Tosun, Saloman Rondon, [NAME REDACTED]
2023: Yerry Mina, Andros Townsend, Asmir Begovic
Losing so many players for nothing at a time where
i.) Club's bottom lines were affected by crowds not being at the grounds
ii.) The market in the Premier League started to get grossly inflated as the monied clubs exploited the situation to shore up their position
iii.) Everton were funding the build for a new stadium
Was always going to affect Everton one way or another, because the stadium build was going to squeeze finances for players - especially with the funding for the build being a messy affair, and the squeeze got that bit firmer - and the fact they were starting pay increased fees yet weren't making a penny on several players leaving (and a few others left for a noticeable loss) was a disaster waiting to happen