Everton and Nottingham Forest are braced for charges over breaking Premier League spending rules… with Toffees at risk of further punishment after 10-point deduction earlier in the season

Everton and Nottingham Forest are expecting to be informed that they have been charged with breaking Premier League spending rules on Monday.

Everton were docked 10 points earlier in the season for breaching financial fair play regulations but can be charged again for their more recent accounts, while Forest are the other club thought to be at risk. 

Mail Sport understands that if Forest are ruled to have transgressed, part of their defence is likely to involve the sale of Brennan Johnson to Tottenham for £47.5million in August.

As FFP calculations are made over a three-year period ending on June 30, the Johnson deal will count towards the reckoning for 2021-2024 rather than 2020-23. 

Clubs are permitted to make financial losses of £105m over a three-year period, with Forest reporting an annual loss of £45.6m in their last accounts. 

Earlier in the season, Everton were docked 10 points earlier in the season for breaching financial fair play regulations which was met by protests from supporters

Forest say they could have sold Johnson to Brentford in June for about £30m, which would have put them in a healthier financial state for the 2020-23 period, but nearly £20m out of pocket overall. 

For the club’s sustainability they argue that accepting nearly £50m for Johnson in August was better than accepting £30m earlier in the summer. 

A Forest spokesman said: ‘Promotion to the Premier League will always create challenges. The club approaches all such challenges with its long-term financial sustainability firmly in mind, as the Premier League rules intended.’