A US group is exploring the prospect of an Everton takeover.

BBC Sport reports city of London financial sources say American investors, with links to Major League Soccer side Sporting Kansas City, are exploring purchasing the Premier League club.

An asking price of £225m is believed to have been set by Everton's owners although it is unknown if the US consortium are prepared to match that.

The possible deal has also been reported in Kansas City.

SKC representative Mike Illig has publicly stated he is an Everton fan, posting pictures of a visit to Goodison Park on his Twitter account on Thursday.

Cliff Illig, Mike's father, is the principal investor in the group of Kansas City entrepreneurs that purchased Kansas City Wizards from the Hunt Sports Group in 2006. He is also co-founder of the Cerner Corporation health care information technology group.