Everton and their sponsorship deals with USM could be affected by potential new Premier League rules in the future, according to a new report.
An article in The Times says a working party led by Richard Masters has been set up in the wake of Newcastle United's Saudi Arabia-backed takeover.
This group is reportedly drawing up plans to propose a new system for sponsorship deals across the top division, which would in future have to be pre-approved by the Premier League board to make sure agreements are not inflated by links between club and sponsor.
The working party is believed to be pushing for a broader definition of 'related party' deals - where sponsorship with links to club owners is involved.
READ MORE: What new Premier League rules could mean for Alisher Usmanov links to Everton
At an emergency meeting last month, 18 of the Premier League's 20 clubs reportedly voted in favour of pushing through new legislation around related party transactions, seeking to make sure that the fair market value was paid on such deals. Newcastle voted against the measures while Manchester City abstained on a legal basis.
The new rules would reportedly cover all sponsorships, including shirt deals and potential stadium naming rights.
Everton owner Farhad Moshiri's business interests include USM Holdings, where he holds a small shareholding, a firm which sponsors the Blues' Finch Farm training ground and paid £30m for first refusal on the naming rights of the club's planned new stadium at Bramley Moore Dock.
Moshiri also has stakes in both MegaFon, another club sponsor, and Metalloinvest.
Alisher Usmanov has been Moshiri's long-time business partner, having large stakes in both MegaFon and USM - but he has stopped short of formalising his investment into Everton through any kind of shareholding.
Business dealings between any Moshiri-associated businesses have been reflected in previous Blues accounts as 'related party transactions', but in the most recent set of accounts for the year ending May 2020, there was no relationship mentioned under related party transactions.
There was either because no transactions took place between that timeframe - or Moshiri's interests in USM had been diluted to a point where he would no longer need to declare that relationship.
The Premier League clubs are due to be updated on the latest proposals from the working group at a shareholders’ meeting in London on Thursday.
