Everton will suffer an 'even bigger financial headache' if the Toffees are condemned to relegation to the Championship, according to journalist Pete O'Rourke.

The Toffees head into tonight's crunch clash with Burnley sitting two places above their hosts and just three points clear of the Premier League's drop zone.

What's the latest news involving Everton's finances?

According to The Athletic, Everton reported a record turnover of £193.1million for the financial year ending 2021, but that was not enough to offset big-money outgoings and prevent a heavy loss of £120.9million.

The report suggests the Toffees' total wage to turnover ratio increased from 89 per cent in 2019/20 to 95 per cent for last year.

Everton reacted to the situation by claiming the figures had been 'artificially inflated' due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, but the wage to turnover ratio far exceeds UEFA's benchmark of 70 per cent.

It comes after billionaire Alisher Usmanov, who has commercial ties to Everton, had his assets frozen by the European Union after it announced further sanctions in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Mail on Sunday have claimed the sanctioning of oligarch Usmanov has left Everton with a black hole of up to £300million in their playing budget.

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What has Pete O'Rourke said about the situation?

O'Rourke believes Everton are destined to be plunged into even further financial turmoil if they fail to maintain their top flight status.

The journalist feels dropping into the Championship will give owner Farhad Moshiri bigger problems than he is already facing.

O'Rourke told GIVEMESPORT: "If they were to suffer relegation, that's going to be an even bigger headache, financially, as well."

Are Everton capable of staying up?

Everton head to Burnley having suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of West Ham United on Sunday.

Frank Lampard, who was appointed as the Merseyside outfit's boss in January, reacted to the latest setback by insisting his charges need to show ‘more quality’ in order to secure positive results but also remains confident that relegation will be staved off.

However, Lampard - who became the first Toffees boss in Premier League history to lose his first four away matches in charge - has secured just two top flight wins since heading to Goodison Park and tonight's trip to Turf Moor could prove crucial in Everton's fight to beat the drop.

Tough-looking clashes against the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and arch-rivals Liverpool are still to come as well.