Everton owner Farhad Moshiri has reportedly decided against selling the Merseyside club.

Moshiri's ownership has come under scrutiny from Everton supporters, who have staged a number of protests throughout the current campaign.

Chairman Bill Kenwright and the Everton board have also been the subject of protests and criticism, and tensions only worsened following a poor January transfer window.

The Toffees sold academy product Anthony Gordon to Newcastle United for £40m, and although they were linked with a number of names, the transfer deadline passed without Everton making a single signing.

On the pitch, Everton are currently battling for their Premier League survival under Sean Dyche, who replaced Frank Lampard in January.

The Toffees are sitting in the relegation zone on goal difference, but they have played a game more than the teams around them in the league table.

There has been widespread speculation that Moshiri may decide to sell Everton, and he has reportedly received a number of serious bids for the club.

However, according to the Daily Mail, Moshiri has refused to accept any of the takeover offers and is only looking to receive fresh investment.

The report claims that New York-based investment fund MSP Sporting Capital are expected to buy a minority stake.

Moshiri has seemingly maintained the stance that he took in January when he told a Fan Advisory Board that he was looking to attract investors to help fund the new £550m stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.

"The club is not for sale, but I have been talking to top investors, really quality, to bridge a gap on the stadium," Moshiri said.

"I can do it myself and the reason I want to do it is to bring top sport investors to Everton. We are close to having a deal done."

Moshiri's decision to retain control of Everton comes amid concerns that a sale could attract scrutiny from the government due to links with oligarch Alisher Usmanov.

The Everton owner and Usmanov were business partners for two decades, and the oligarch's company USM had sponsorship deals with the Merseyside club until March 2022.

The Toffees cut commercial ties with USM after Usmanov was sanctioned by the government for being a 'pro-Kremlin' oligarch with 'close ties to Vladimir Putin'. body check tags ::