Everton takeover delays impact on future of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Ben Godfrey with wholesale squad changes ahead... as agents waste no time upping their commission - AHEAD OF THE GAME

Proposed takeover at Goodison Park by 777 Partners continues to drag onThere will be knock-on effects on Sean Dyche's squad in the coming monthsFootball is changing... managers can't rely on their reputation. Just look at the Golden Generation - It's All Kicking Off 

Everton’s hopes of finalising new contracts for Ben Godfrey, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and other first-team stars this month have been placed on hold due to ongoing delays over the proposed takeover from 777 Partners.

The England internationals have both entered the last 18 months of their existing contracts, leaving Everton with a choice of agreeing new deals or selling them at the end of the season.

In addition to Godfrey and Calvert-Lewin five other players will be out of contract next summer, with seven contracts expiring this summer, so Everton’s squad could look very different next season.

While Everton remain confident that 777’s purchase is imminent Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said this week that approval from the top-flight is still weeks away.

777 remain undeterred however, with six of their executives visiting Everton’s new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock on Thursday before watching the FA Cup third-round replay win over Crystal Palace at Goodison Park.

New Everton contracts for Ben Godfrey (left) and Dominic Calvert-Lewin (right) have been placed on hold because of the delays to a takeover by 777 Partners

777 Partners co-founder Josh Wander inked the deal with Farhad Moshiri (right) in September

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Agents up their commission after FIFA announcement 

Agents have been quick to renegotiate their representation contracts with players after FIFA announced they were suspending the new three per cent cap on commissions last month.

A number of agents are understood to have already altered their commission rates to between five and 10 per cent in the hope of gaining bigger fees during the current transfer window.

As previously reported by Mail Sport some agents are also discussing taking legal action against FIFA in an attempt to regain lost earnings for the last 12 months.

Premier League give themselves breathing space  

The Premier League have given themselves a two-week buffer to conclude the spending charges against Everton and Nottingham Forest this summer should the cases go to extra time.

While the Premier League have committed to finishing both hearings and any appeals by 24 May – nine days after the final day of the season – their absolute deadline is 5 June, the date set for their AGM when so-called ‘golden shares’ are issued to the 20 clubs who will make up the top-flight next season.

The timetable in the Everton case is particularly tight their appeal against the 10-point deduction they received for last season’s breaches must be heard first, and the club have yet to be given a firm date for that hearing.

To complicate matters further Forest may argue that their case should not be heard until Everton’s appeal is concluding on the basis that that verdict could set a significant precedent.

Nottingham Forest are the latest club facing a points penalty over alleged financial breaches

When will Burnham publish letters? 

Andy Burnham has been a vocal campaigner for greater transparency in the Premier League’s handling of Everton’s alleged breaches so eyebrows have been raised at his failure to publish two letters he has received from the competition’s chair Alison Brittain which provided a detailed explanation of their role.

The Mayor of Greater Manchester and Everton fan wrote two open letters to the Premier League last month in which he accused top-flight executives of ‘an abuse of process,’ but has yet to publish Brittain’s two replies.

Sources close to Burnham however, have pointed out that the letters were marked confidential so he was unable to disclose the details.

Everton fan Andy Burnham has been a vocal campaigner for Premier League transparency