Liverpool City Council has reaffirmed its commitment to working with Everton in relation to the club’s plans for a new stadium but also stressed it is not in a position to fund the project and that any investment it makes will go into a “wider regeneration scheme.”

Last year the Toffees revealed they were exploring locations for a new home in collaboration with the council.

The Premier League outfit are looking to switch from Goodison Park to a new 50,000-capacity purpose-built ground inside the city boundaries of Liverpool.

And on Tuesday at the club’s 2014 general meeting, their chief executive Robert Elstone expressed Everton’s excitement and “cautious optimism” about a particular site — which he refused to name — that was being focused on more than the others.

Elstone said: “We need a council being supportive financially and supportive entrepreneurially as well.

“At the moment there are signs that they are being that and that’s to be welcomed and we’re delighted with that.”

In response, a statement from Liverpool City Council issued yesterday read: “Following reports in the media today, we wish to reaffirm our commitment to working with Everton FC in relation to their new stadium proposals.

“As with all large-scale regeneration projects with the potential to create jobs and investment in Liverpool, the city council will look at ways it can support the wider regeneration scheme but no firm options have been developed in terms of how or where this will take shape.

“This work is ongoing and we will announce the details of the location and support we will be offering once this has been further developed.

“However, we must stress that the city council is clearly not in a position to fund the costs of a new stadium.

“Any investment the council makes would be in a wider regeneration scheme, subject to a sound financial and economic rationale for doing so.”