Inside the £800m Everton sale: The moment the Friedkins knew they couldn't meet fans' demands, why absentee owners are confident of deal before end of season - and the signings they still want to make in January

As the murky grey River Mersey rain lashed the sides of the Hill Dickinson Stadium early on Friday morning, there was little sense of yet another ill wind sweeping through Everton . Confirmation that the club's owners The Friedkin Group (TFG) wish to sell arrived, after all, with no great surprise following the turbulence of recent months. Staff at the club's Liver Building offices and Finch Farm training complex say they had no inkling of the impending statement.