Everton chief Robert Elstone hopes to kickstart stadium talks with the new Liverpool City Council.

The Labour Party swept to power in the city following last week's elections, ending 12 years of Liberal Democrat rule.

Having seen their Destination Kirkby project scuppered in November, Everton had already held talks with former council chiefs to find a site for a new stadium within the city boundaries.

New council leader Joe Anderson is a Goodison season-ticket holder and was an outspoken critic of the proposed move to Knowsley.

And Everton chief executive Elstone is keen to begin "fresh and progressive" dialogue with Cllr Anderson and his party.

"Hopefully, discussions with Liverpool City Council and the newly-elected Labour leader will be exciting," said Elstone.

"The truth is the city council does hold the key to a new stadium; a new stadium that's so important to us to keep pace at the top of the Premier League.

"It's going over old ground, but Goodison's redevelopment has an uncertain time frame, an uncertain cost, restricted funding streams and no guarantee, ultimately, of success.

"It's also worth pointing out that design is not our current challenge. Well-intentioned as they might be, plans such as the so-called 'Siamese Stadium' don't really take us anywhere.

"There are many, many versions of what our new stadium should look like, either on its own, at Goodison or elsewhere, shared or 'joined at the hip' and when such schemes receive media backing, inevitably the expectations of our fans are falsely raised."