Everton owner Farhad Moshiri is seeking the seventh managerial appointment in his rocky reign as owner of Goodison Park after sacking Frank Lampard.
Lampard’s successor will not only have to save Everton from abysmal form that leaves them 19th in the Premier League, but also work for an owner who has already sacked Roberto Martinez, Ronald Koeman, Sam Allardyce, Marco Silva, Rafael Benitez and now Lampard.
Who are being considered for Everton’s next manager – and who could be in the running?
Marcelo Bielsa
The 67-year-old former Leeds United manager is favored by Moshiri but is said to have reservations about the timing of the move and the composition of Everton’s squad, which appears unsuited to his very specific goals.
Bielsa is revered at Elland Road for leading Leeds to the Premier League before being sacked last February after a string of poor results.
The Argentine is believed to be interested in a return to England, but any appointment would be fraught with risk on both sides, as Bielsa is known for his demanding fitness regimes and all-out attacking style, requiring pace and fierce intensity.
Would he have enough time to impose this style? Would he have the players to impose this style? Uncertain on both counts.
Sean Dyche
Dyche has been regularly linked with Everton but has never been approached by the club in the past – so what would persuade Moshiri and director of football Kevin Thelwell to do so now?
He would, in many ways, represent the confident personality needed to get Everton’s lopsided and underperforming side fit for a survival fight, as his record at Burnley proved.
Dyche is available and would surely be interested in Everton – although anyone would need to be persuaded to come given the current dysfunctional state of the club – but should impose his style again quickly. Also: Is Moshiri really convinced by him?
Carlos Corberán
Corberan’s name may come as a surprise to many, but he has admirers at Goodison Park.
He has certainly been mooted as a potential successor to Lampard after a superb start at West Bromwich Albion, taking them from the foot of the Championship to the play-off places since his appointment in October.
The 39-year-old Spaniard guided Huddersfield Town to the Championship play-off final last season, losing to Nottingham Forest, then returned to England after a short spell in Greece with Olympiakos.
Corberan could almost be considered ‘Bielsa-lite’, a prodigy who worked with the Argentine at Leeds United and plays in a similar style. He would be a major gamble but would surely be interested in making the jump to the Premier League.
Ralph Hasenhüttl
Hasenhuttl’s name was discussed at Everton board level when they were looking for a successor to Rafael Benitez a year ago, but it was agreed that it would be impossible to get him out of Southampton, and the work was entrusted to Lampard.
The barrier was removed after the Austrian, 55, was sacked in November. Despite a disappointing end to his nearly four-year tenure, he did a good job at St Mary’s.
Hasenhuttl is awaiting his next opportunity and could be receptive to any opening from Everton.
wayne rooney
Rooney turned down the opportunity to be interviewed to replace Rafael Benitez while at Derby County, but the answer would surely be different now that he is manager of DC United, a Major League Soccer team based in Derby. Washington.
He might appeal to sentimentalists after his two spells as a player at Everton but has no managerial experience at the highest level. He would bring passion to the job as an Everton fan, but would he have the know-how to pull them out of their current deep hole? Very risky.
Duncan Ferguson
The romantics among Everton fans would welcome the idea of the cult hero returning to the club he left in July 2022 to seek a managerial opportunity which has yet to materialise. He worked under seven managers at Goodison Park, but realists would point out his only experience in the main job was two brief stints as a goalkeeper – the second for just one game, which was lost.
Ferguson would make a punt into the unknown and another on the high-risk betting list. Would Everton be brave enough to take it? Unlikely.
Sam Allardyce
The mere mention of Allardyce’s name will send many Everton fans reeling in horror after he was sacked in May 2018 after six months without love at Goodison Park.
The veteran football firefighter will however point out that Everton were eighth at the end of his short stint, a fortune compared to where they are now.
Disadvantages? Allardyce was hugely unpopular with Everton fans then, so could a board beleaguered by protesting supporters potentially inflame the situation by coming back to him?
He also played his part in Everton’s transfer profligacy by splashing out nearly £50million on strikers Cenk Tosun and Theo Walcott in his transfer window alone. Both were expensive flops.
Last resort. Desperate measure. Call it what you will, but it would be a sign of the mess Everton are in if they seriously considered this one. Surely not.
Nuno Espirito Santo
The former Wolves manager was interviewed by Everton in the summer of 2021 after leaving Molineux but was beaten to the job by Rafael Benitez. Since then he has failed miserably at Tottenham, where he was sacked after just four months, and is now manager of Saudi club Al-Ittihad.
It would be a low-key choice but it would all depend on how far Everton have come in their list of options on whether they would go for the 48-year-old.
Marcelino
Sources in Spain claim Everton have surveyed the 57-year-old, who has a good reputation but no England experience – and that’s before they get to the chaos that would await him at Goodison Park.
Marcelino certainly knows the ropes in Spain having worked at Sevilla, Villarreal and Valencia. Resigned from Athletic Bilbao in May 2022. Rank underdog.
