Everton are at risk of a damaging points deduction this season as the Premier League have told clubs they are confident of completing their investigation before the end of this campaign.
Any deduction would be a crushing blow to the club’s survival hopes, and Sportsmail has learned six top-flight rivals have written to the League demanding answers following Everton’s charge last week over breaching spending rules.
Everton are two points above the relegation zone and the four teams directly below them all have games in hand.
As reported by Sportsmail last weekend Everton’s rivals had expressed unhappiness at the timing of the charges after being given categoric assurances by the Premier League last summer that Everton had no case to answer despite recording combined losses of £371million over a three-year period, more than three times the permissible limit of £105m.