Four managers who could be heading to Everton

Four managers who could be heading to Everton

By Oli Dickson-Jefford

Once again, Everton are searching for a new manager.

Rafa Benitez’s 200-day reign was blighted by negativity and poor performances, and his departure last week means the club have gone through five permanent managers in five-and-a-half years.

Club legend Duncan Ferguson is again temporarily in the dugout though the Scot is unlikely to be kept on permanently, with the search for a new boss already underway.

Here are four potential candidates that Bill Kenwright and Farhad Moshiri could be considering.

Wayne Rooney

Rooney would certainly be the nostalgic choice in the search for a new manager, having started his career at Goodison Park and returning for a second spell after leaving Manchester United.

The 36-year-old is currently managing at Derby and is doing an admirable job with a beleaguered squad amid doubts about whether the club will survive much longer.

He would certainly get a warm reception from the Goodison faithful, and it is easy to see the attraction from his perspective; a job where the crowd adore him, and the club are closer to solid ground in a financial sense.

However, his lack of experience may mean he is not the right man for the job just yet.

Frank Lampard

Having been out of a job for a year since being sacked by Chelsea last January, Frank Lampard is thought to be keen on a return to management.

The former England midfielder was linked to the Aston Villa, Norwich and Newcastle jobs when they became available, and this job would not be too dissimilar to any of those.

Compared to Rooney, Lampard does have an edge on experience and certainly showed some potential during his spells at Derby and Chelsea.

There are concerns about how he shapes his teams tactically however, and Everton’s hierarchy might want to hire someone who employs a clearer identity.

Paulo Fonseca

After being linked to countless Premier League jobs over the years, it was only natural that Paulo Fonseca’s name would be brought up when the search for a new manager began.

Following his departure from Roma in May 2021 he was close to becoming Tottenham manager before negotiations fell at the final hurdle, before then being linked with both Newcastle and Villa.

Compared to other names connected to the job he certainly has a great deal of experience and did a solid, if perhaps unspectacular, job in Italy after a successful spell at Shakhtar Donetsk.

Considering his level of experience and the likelihood that he will one day end up in the Premier League, as well as the fact his teams do score a lot of goals, he could be a solid choice.

Nuno Espirito Santo

Hiring Nuno Espírito Santo would certainly be an interesting choice, considering how tumultuous his ultimately short spell at Tottenham was.

However, compared to the other names on this list Nuno has Premier League experience and also knows about re-building a side, taking Wolves from the Championship to European football.

His style of football is not necessarily the most exciting, but considering Everton are not too far off a relegation battle at this point, they simply need a manager who can steady the ship.

It may be the case that he wants to take a break from the game after his tenure at Spurs went downhill dramatically, but he would be a solid fit for the Toffees.

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