Everton have shortlist of eight names for managers’ position

Porto boss Vitor Pereira is favourite to be the next Everton boss

It has been revealed that Everton have a shortlist of eight candidates for the vacant managers’ job.

That list includes three internal candidates, who we have reviewed before here on Soccernews and five external candidates.

Cheap

Everton do have a shoestring budget, but if the Toffee’s choose to appoint somebody from within the club then owner Bill Kenwright will definitely be taking the cheap option.

Everton do not have to take the cheap option because David Moyes was one of the most highly paid bosses in the Premier League, so his replacement could earn around the same and the finances would not be affected.

The internal candidates Phil Neville, Alan Stubbs and David Weir have been interviewed, but the trio lack any sort of senior managerial experience.

External

Here is the list of external candidates that Everton chairman Bill Kenwright is interested in interviewing for the position:

Vitor Pereira (Porto)

The Porto boss is the current favourite with the bookmakers to take over at Goodison Park. According to a Portuguese sports magazine Everton made contact with Pereira two months ago, as a contingency if David Moyes left.

Pereira has just guided Porto to the Portuguese league title this season. Porto were undefeated all season, but the 44 year-old was criticised for his clubs’ performance in the Champions League, as they lost 2-1 on aggregate to Spanish club Malaga in the quarter-finals.

Pereira is out of contract with Porto this summer and he has already revealed his desire to manage in the Premier League.

Roberto Martinez (Wigan)

Wigan boss Roberto Martinez has been touted as David Moyes replacement for a long time and as soon as Moyes left for Manchester United was red-hot favourite for the job. However, it seems that Pereira has replaced him in the betting as the favoured one.

Martinez had kept Wigan up for the last three seasons and won the FA Cup on a shoestring budget, but this season his luck finally ran out as the Latics were finally relegated. His ability to find players on the cheap and develop them is probably one of the main reasons that he is attractive to Everton.

Martinez has told Wigan boss Dave Whelan that he will decide on his future later today. Whether that means a move to Everton remains to be seen, but the Spaniard has options with Stoke also interested in speaking to Martinez.

Malky Mackay (Cardiff)

Cardiff boss Malky Mackay has just helped the Bluebirds to promotion to the Premier League, winning the Championship title in the process. Mackay won the LMA Championship Manager of the Year award for helping the Bluebirds to the title.

The 41-year-old Scot is rated as a very talented up-and-coming young coach and did superb work with Watford, before joining Cardiff in 2011. Mackay has denied that there has been contact from Everton and has stated he is concentrating on his own job.

Mackay may decide to stay with Cardiff and see what his team can achieve this season in the top flight.

Michael Laudrup (Swansea)

Laudrup has done an exceptional job after joining Swansea last summer. The former-Getafe boss had a big job on his hands replacing the highly-rated Brendan Rodgers, who left for Liverpool, but the Northern Irishman has hardly been missed.

The Dane helped the club to their first piece of major silverware and made some very clever signings, with Spaniard Michu one of the signings of the season.

Laudrup seems happy at the Liberty Stadium and his agent has already stated that he will not be moving on this summer.

Roberto Di Matteo (unemployed)

Former-Chelsea head coach has been out of work since being sacked as Blues boss in November and replaced by Rafa Benitez. However, the Italian won many fans as he guided Chelsea to Champions League victory in 2012.

Di Matteo also helped West Brom to promotion to the top flight, before being sacked after a terrible run of form. Di Matteo has also been heavily linked with the Stoke vacancy and is favourite for the job with some bookmakers.

Difficult

Whoever comes in as David Moyes’ replacement will have a difficult job on their hands keeping Everton at the same level of competitiveness. However, if Everton manage to keep hold of the majority of the squad then the Toffee’s are not far away from the teams above them, even if the clubs finances are.

Who will be the next Everton manager?