Everton look to raise urgently needed funds by selling Andy Johnson

Andy Johnson is heading out of Everton as manager David Moyes looks to generate urgently-needed transfer funds.

Everton have reluctantly made the former England striker available amid continuing uncertainty over how much Moyes can spend after earning a UEFA Cup place last season.

They can expect a swift sale after it emerged six Barclays Premier League clubs have already expressed an interest. Sunderland led the way with a £10million bid as they look for a goalscorer in the wake of leading marksman Kenwyne Jones’s likely nine-month absence with a knee injury.

While their offer meets Everton’s valuation of a player who cost £8.6m from Crystal Palace two years ago, Sunderland manager Roy Keane knows he faces competition from West Ham, Wigan, Aston Villa, Manchester City and Middlesbrough.

The field could be narrowed following claims that Johnson has already ruled out a move to Wigan while West Ham may struggle to raise the funds.

The 27-year-old is increasingly frustrated at Everton with a lack of starting opportunities, or being used in a wide role, following Yakubu’s arrival from Middlesbrough last summer.

He has complained he feels he is being forced out but it is understood both player and club now believe a move would be mutually beneficial.

It would give Johnson the chance to try to revive his England career at the same time allowing Moyes to step up his search for more height up front, with Tottenham striker Darren Bent already under scrutiny.

Sunderland are also tracking Bent but are aware he had misgivings over relocating to the North East when Charlton won the race to sign him from Ipswich three years ago.

With Moyes’s future and spending power still to be resolved, cash from a Johnson sale could fund signings up front and in midfield. Everton were eyeing Twente Enschede’s Holland anchor man Orlando Engelaar to fill the gap left by Lee Carsley’s switch to Birmingham before the Dutchman opted for Bundesliga side Schalke.

After learning how much Manchester United (£33.9million), Chelsea (£28.7m), Liverpool (£21.1m) and Arsenal (£18.3m) earned from last season’s Champions League, Everton are lobbying for a fairer distribution of wealth from Europe’s two club competitions.

In contrast to the top four, Everton raked in just £400,000, not including gate receipts and television revenue, from reaching the last 16 of the UEFA Cup.

Chief executive Keith Wyness told evertonfc.com: ‘The figures are a clear demonstration of why there needs to be a more balanced distribution of the European prize money.

‘If the current situation continues, the gaps in domestic leagues across Europe will become larger and larger. That outcome would not only be dangerous but a disservice to supporters who follow their clubs home and abroad.’