Everton boss Sean Dyche admits he's met with 777 Partners.
The American investment firm are in advanced talks to buy Everton from majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri.
Dyche said today: "They made it clear to us that the deal's got a long way to go to get to its finality. They just wanted a feel of what I've learned from my time here and the challenges.
"They were very honest and promoted the thought that it's going to take time to get the deal done in the sense of the 'fit and proper' test.
"They were more getting a feel of what my thoughts and our thoughts were, rather than giving us a directive of what they're planning."