Nottingham Forest

Everton have already been punished for a breach, as they were deducted 10 points back in November, as their losses were above the limit set by the Premier League.

Forest have spent freely since their promotion to the top flight, signing more players than any other club from last summer's transfer window onwards.

A report from The Times claims that Forest are now at most risk of falling foul of the rules based on accounts for the 2022-23 season.

All Premier League clubs had to submit their accounts for the season on December 31, and clubs on the edge will find out in just two weeks' time whether they have broken the rules.

The Premier League's financial rules state that clubs can only make a maximum loss of £105m over a three-year period, or £35m a season.

What puts Forest at great risk is that if a club has been in the Championship during that three-year period, the amount of permitted losses is significantly lower, meaning their threshold will be much more stringent.

Forest spent two of those three seasons as a Championship club, and their vast spending since winning promotion now puts them at risk because of the disparity between their recent purchases, and what they spent when down in the second tier.

The report states that the cost of Forest's wages alone has been double the income they made while in the Championship, where they were only permitted losses of £13m-per-season.

In a statement, Forest claimed: "The club has fully complied with its reporting obligations in respect of the Premier League's revised profit and sustainability rules.

"Promotion to the Premier League will always create challenges, and the treatment of promotion bonuses is just one such example. The club approaches all such challenges with its long-term financial sustainability firmly in mind, as the Premier League rules intended."

The club have broken their transfer record in successive summer windows, firstly for Morgan Gibbs-White in 2022, and for Ibrahim Sangare in August, while also splashing out hefty wages on Premier League-proven players.

While now departed, Jesse Lingard was believed to be on wages totalling six-figures-per-week, something which will have heavily contributed to their wage bill being double of the club's total income.

Should a club be found guilty, they will have another two weeks to appeal, before a hearing will take place by April at the latest to ensure the issue is resolved before the end of the season.

Everton's appeal from last season's accounts remains under review after it was lodged in the immediate aftermath of their punishment, with the 10-point penalty still in place for now.