Everton will be 'forced into a fire-sale' of their star players if Frank Lampard's charges cannot stave off relegation to the Championship, according to Daily Star journalist Paul Brown.

The Toffees may have secured a 1-0 win over Manchester United courtesy of a deflected Anthony Gordon strike at the weekend, but they are still sitting just four points clear of the Premier League's drop zone.

Who has been linked with a move away from Everton?

According to Sport Witness, Premier League rivals Manchester United and Spanish giants Real Madrid have contacted Everton over the possibility of signing Richarlison.

The report suggests the 34-cap Brazil international is not pushing for a move away from Merseyside, but the Toffees are still bracing themselves for bids when the transfer window reopens.

It comes after it was previously claimed that Manchester United have already held talks with Richarlison’s representatives ahead of potentially tabling a big-money bid.

Meanwhile, Arsenal and West Ham United have been put on red alert after it emerged Everton are open to offloading Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the summer.

The Toffees reportedly slapped a £60million price tag on the 25-year-old following initial interest from the Hammers during the winter window.

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What has Paul Brown said about the situation?

Brown believes Lampard, who was appointed as Everton's boss on deadline day of the January window, could be made to contend with some of his key players leaving Goodison Park if they are condemned to the drop.

The journalist feels the Merseyside outfit would then have to dip into the transfer market to find replacements for cult heroes, which would not be an easy task.

Brown told GIVEMESPORT: "The doomsday scenario is that Everton have all these players who don't have relegation clauses in their contracts and that they'd be forced into a fire-sale of quite a lot of players.

"Then they would be scrapping around trying to get anyone in."

Why would Everton have to sell their biggest earners?

According to The Athletic, Everton recorded a heavy loss of £120.9million for the last financial year, with the total wage to turnover ratio increasing from 89 per cent in 2019/20 to 95 per cent.

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 that has left the Merseyside outfit with a black hole of up to £300million in their playing budget, meaning relegation would cause even more problems.