Can Ronald Koeman fulfil his ambitions at Everton?

Ronald Koeman looks set to be the new Everton boss

According to Sky Sports, the representatives of Southampton boss Ronald Koeman are holding talks with Everton majority shareholder Farhad about the Dutchman being the Toffees new boss.

A compensation fee of around £3million has been mooted for the former-Feyenoord boss, who a few weeks ago looked set to sign a new deal with the Saints.

However, it seems he is now more likely to be the Everton boss than the Southampton boss at the beginning of next season.

Southampton have bettered Everton in recent seasons

Some would argue that at the moment that Everton is a slight step down from Southampton, as the Saints have bettered the Toffees in the last few seasons. The fact that Everton had the hapless Roberto Martinez in charge of the team in those seasons is no coincidence.

Southampton have good facilities and a more modern stadium, but they lack the history and tradition of the club from Merseyside. In terms of tradition and history the Saints are not even in the same league as Everton.

In terms of trophies won Everton are still the fifth most successful club in the history of English football, despite going 21 years without a trophy. Southampton have never won the English top-flight title, yet the Toffees have won it nine times.

The statistics speak for themselves. Everton are a traditionally bigger club and it would be hard to dispute that fact.

About the future and not the past

Forget the past though. If the media reports are true then it seems Ronald Koeman believes he has a better chance of breaking that top-four ceiling with the Toffees than the Saints.

Looking at the current squads and arguably Koeman has better a stronger squad on the south coast than the one on Merseyside. Their performance over the last two seasons under Koeman suggests that the Saints are ready to challenge for a top-six or even top-four place on a regular basis.

However, the Southampton ownership, rightly or wrongly are very careful with the money they spend and maybe they are not willing to back the Dutchman in the transfer market in the future.

Everton have for too long been punching above their financial weight. It has at times stopped the side from Merseyside pushing further up the table. With Moshiri seemingly determined to develop the club, money is not a major concern at Everton anymore.

Moshiri is reported to have given Koeman detail plans of where he wants the team to be in the future and how he expects to achieve that. The former-Arsenal shareholder has already stated there will be transfers funds available to the clubs boss this summer.

Can Koeman help Everton fulfil their potential?

The Everton job is a relatively attractive one to managers. The club has so much potential and the history to back it up. Add to that the prospect of being given funds to strengthen an already decent squad and Everton seems like a good all-around package.

The likes of Sevilla boss Unai Emery and former-Ajax boss Frank De Boer looked to be in the running for the job on Merseyside, but Koeman is now the stand out favourite for the job at odds of 1/6.

It is fair to say that Everton have under-achieved in the last few seasons. Some would say they have under-achieved in the last three decades, but the finances were against them.

Koeman has done a fantastic job at Southampton. He has helped rebuild the team after the club have lost top players and found good value replacements. Given a big transfer kitty he may even have taken the Saints even higher up the table.

However, the Premier League is getting more competitive every season and for the Saints to challenge for a Champions League spot they would have to spend big money.

The same could be said about Everton though, as a number of their players futures with the club including Romelu Lukaku and John Stones are in doubt.

The one deciding factor for Koeman may be that the Everton hierarchy are willing to match his ambitions and Southampton’s are not.

For me Koeman is a good choice for Everton, but you have to feel for Southampton if Koeman does move on, as the south coast club could lose yet another talented boss to a Premier League rival.

The Everton job will be a tough one, with expectations now high because of the influx of money. With the right moves in the transfer market the side from Merseysiders could be challenging at the top end of the Premier League sooner rather than later.

Can Ronald Koeman fulfil his ambitions at Everton?