Five possible candidates for the Everton job

Frank de Boer is the favourite to be the next Everton boss

The inevitable axe has fallen on Roberto Martinez, as the Spaniard lost his job as Everton boss on Thursday afternoon.

The Spaniard had been in charge on Merseyside for three years, but the Toffees have struggled to fulfil their potential in the last two campaigns.

The hunt is now on for a replacement for the Spaniard, but speculation and rumours were rife long before Martinez was officially sacked over who would be the next man for the job. Here are five of the favourites to be the next Everton boss:

Frank de Boer

The Dutchman is still a relative youngster in the managerial game at 45, but has been highly successful in the Eredivisie with Ajax, winning the title four titles in six seasons in Amsterdam.

De Boer left the Dutch club on Thursday morning and is now the favourite for the job at Goodison at odds of 4/7. The former-Barcelona star’s agent has actually already stated he would love the Everton job and he could be the perfect fit for the Toffees.

Ronald Koeman

Koeman is already at a Premier League club in Southampton and proven a big hit on the south coast. Last season the Saints finished seventh, despite the fact that a number of star players were sold in the summer.

The team from the south coast are in a similar position this season and could finish as high as fifth this season, depending on results going their way on the last day of the season.

Koeman has just a year left on his contract at Southampton and was reportedly scheduled to have a meeting with the Saints hierarchy this summer. The Toffees are believed to have a big transfer kitty lined-up for the next boss, something that Southampton are unlikely to offer.

Manuel Pellegrini

The Chilean is leaving Manchester City this summer after three years in charge of the Citizens, in which he has won the Premier League title once and the League Cup twice.

This season the Citizens form has been inconsistent and has taken a sharp downturn since it was announced that the Chilean is being replaced by Pep Guardiola.

For his doubters though, Pellegrini has done a decent job at most of his clubs. Helping little Villarreal to the top-three of La Liga and then guiding them to the Champions League semi-finals had to be the highlight of his time in Spain.

The 62-year-old has professed that he would like to stay in the Premier League and this could be the ideal job to keep him in England.

Mark Hughes

The Stoke boss has been at a variety of clubs and had a mixed managerial record. In the Potteries he has done a decent job changing the style of play and brought in some exciting foreign players. He is also a former-Everton player.

His chequered managerial record seems to be swaying Evertonian opinion against the Welshman and he does not currently seem to be one of the front runners for the job. However, his name is likely to be mentioned in the corridors of power, even if he does not get the job.

David Moyes

Opinion seems to be mixed on the return of the former-boss. The Scot spent 11 years at Everton and steadied a very shaky ship. He took the Toffees from the brink of relegation to a team that regularly finished in and around the top-six of the Premier League table.

Moyes achievements were to be applauded considering he was always operating with very limited transfer funds. Since leaving the Toffees in 2013, the 53-year-old has endured an ill-fated spell at Manchester United and also enjoyed mixed fortunes in Spain with Real Sociedad.

His return seems an unlikely one, as it seems that Everton want to have a fresh start and with new investment there are probably more exciting options out there for the Toffees.

Exciting times ahead

This summer could be an exciting one for Evertonians. For the first summer transfer window in a long time Everton have got the financial clout to spend decent money and with the right man at the helm this summer could be the start of something special on the blue half of Merseyside.

Evertonians do not expect instant title-winning results from the team’s next boss, but the least they can expect next season is a place in the top ten, because quite simply the past two seasons have not been good enough for the Toffees.

Who will be the next Everton boss?