Sean Dyche’s side suffered a thoroughly miserable start to the 2024-25 campaign with a 3-0 humbling at home by Brighton.

The Toffees have struggled at the wrong end of the table for the last three seasons, narrowly escaping relegation on two of those occasions, and are bottom of the pile after their opener.

They made a bright start against the Seagulls and had an early goal disallowed, but were second best for large periods thereafter.

“It was a horrible game as a manager,” said Dyche. “When you are doing everything you ask and then concede a pretty soft goal from our point of view – a soft pass, they counter and we are 1-0 down against the run of play.

“We then concede from a poor decision from a pass and then get someone sent off and the whole feeling changes.

“Unfortunately we had these moments early last season, head scratchers. The first half was a good performance. We got punished for mistakes.”

Everton are playing at Goodison Park for the final season before moving to a new ground on Bramley-Moore Dock.

But they begin in the worst possible manner and have now lost their opening game in the last three campaigns.

Despite being docked a total of eight points last season for breaching the Premier League’s financial rules, Dyche steered the side to a 15th-placed finish, a highly commendable 14 points clear of the drop zone.

Following the positive finish to last term and exciting new signings such as Iliman Ndiaye and Jesper Lindstrom coming in during the summer, there was optimism around the club that they could push on and fight for a top-half place.

But the demoralising performance against Brighton throws the team into chaos again, amid more takeover uncertainty after John Textor became the latest party to agree a period of exclusivity with owner Farhad Moshiri.

Textor is the newest party in the frame to take over the Toffees after talks broke down with both 777 Partners and the Friedkin Group this summer.

In their latest accounts in March, Everton reported financial losses of £89.1m, with the club’s net debt rising to £330.6m.

They have recouped around £70m in player sales this summer with the exits of Amadou Onana, Lewis Dobbin and Ben Godfrey.

“The club I am truly fearful for is not a newly promoted side,” former Toffees winger Pat Nevin told BBC Radio 5 Live. “If I am brutally honest, my real concerns are for my old club Everton.

‌”This season the problems are bigger than leaving Goodison, losing more important players, the threat of another relegation battle if there are any injuries or any more draconian points deductions.

“‌No, it is the crushing debt and the inability to get a buyer that can pass muster and is considered trustworthy.

“‌Everton’s financial woes are not over. In fact they are as bad, if not worse, than they have ever been.

‌”If they cannot find a buyer, it could still be the biggest and saddest story of the coming season.”