Everton’s relegation-threatened squad is split between players who are facing significant pay cuts if the club go down and others who do not need to worry about a potential salary reduction.
Thursday’s night’s 4-1 thrashing at home to Newcastle United left Everton second-bottom of the Premier League table, prompting further panic over the financial implications of relegation ahead of a huge game against Leicester City, who are one place above Sean Dyche’s side, on Monday night.
Telegraph Sport understands that Everton started to plan for the doomsday scenario of going down last summer, having narrowly avoided the drop, after including relegation clauses in the contracts of their new signings.
But many of the players who were already at the club did not have significant relegation reductions written into their lucrative contracts, while goalkeeper Jordan Pickford signed a new contract, worth over £150,000-a-week, in February.
Everton sold Richarlison, one of the big earners, to Tottenham Hotspur in the summer, but other highly paid players such as Yerry Mina and Dominic Calvert-Lewin are still at the club, while Andre Gomes, who is on loan at Lille, has a contract that runs to next summer.
The club did not sign a single new player in January to boost their battle against relegation and in March announced financial losses for the fifth successive year, which have totalled more than £430 million.
Everton have been referred to an independent commission over an alleged breach of profitability and sustainability rules by the Premier League.
A source told Telegraph Sport: “Players who were signed in the summer have relegation reduction clauses in their contracts, but not everyone who was there beforehand has one.
“The club have tried to be responsible after almost being relegated last season, but it has created a strange situation in which some players are facing pay cuts and others aren’t.”
It is unclear whether Everton manager Dyche, who would reportedly be in line for a bonus of upwards of £3.5 million if the club avoid the drop, would face a cut to his wages in the event of relegation from the Premier League.