Everton Football Club (EFC) has confirmed that it has held "positive" discussions with Liverpool City Council (LCC) over potential sites for the future development of a new stadium.

The Premier League club is now looking at options within the city boundary after plans for a 50,000-seat venue at Kirkby as part of a joint scheme with Tesco were rejected by the government in November 2009. Improvements to the town centre, new leisure facilities, a new Tesco Extra store and a housing development were also included as part of the Destination Kirkby scheme, which was rejected by communities secretary John Denham despite the approval of Knowsley Council.

In a joint statement, EFC and LCC said: "A positive meeting took place between Everton FC and Liverpool City Council about future stadium options within the city boundary, and more discussions have been scheduled for the near future." EFC warned in November 2008 that it was critical the public inquiry found in favour of the Kirkby proposals due to the significant impact the scheme could have had on the club's finances.