Portuguese bosses linked with Everton job

It seems my favourite holiday destination has a production line of highly-rated bosses, no, not Blackpool, Portugal. Jose Mourinho has been a modern-day frontrunner for bosses from his homeland.

He has won everything you possibly can in the club game. However, it now seems there is a new breed of his compatriots following his example. According to reports, Everton are looking at several of Mourinho’s compatriots as potential replacements for current boss Sam Allardyce.

Here are some of those highly-rated young bosses:

Paulo Fonseca (Shakhtar Donetsk)

Though technically not Portuguese, Fonseca has spent the majority of his life in Portugal and Portuguese football.

The 45-year-old has established an exciting managerial reputation for himself at Shakhtar Donetsk. His style is easy on the eye and very successful, as he is set to guide the Ukrainian side to a second consecutive domestic title.

Shakhtar also made it into the knockout stages of the Champions League this season, becoming the first team to beat Manchester City in any competition this season along the way.

Reports from Portugal suggest the Mozambique-born boss will be managing in the Premier League next season. His contract with the Ukrainian club expires this summer. Shakhtar are understandably desperate to keep their highly-rated boss, reportedly offering him a big money deal to stay.

However, Everton, Arsenal and even West Ham are all believed to have made contact with Fonseca’s representatives. The 45-year-old is unlikely to join Arsenal, though, and is odds of 50/1 to be the next Arsenal boss.

A move to Merseyside to manage Everton looks more likely, as he would have the chance to manage in the English top-flight and have decent resources available to him.

Sergio Conceicao (Porto)

The managerial rookie is that rare breed amongst Portuguese bosses, a boss who actually excelled at the top level of the game during his playing days. Conceicao played in Serie A with the likes of Inter and Lazio, as well as the Portuguese national team.

However, it seems he is already making a name for himself as a boss. The 43-year-old guided Porto to the Primeira Liga title this season, their first in four years. The achievement has reportedly not gone unnoticed at other clubs, with again Everton reportedly interested in Conceicao as a replacement for much-maligned boss Allardyce.

Conceicao has impressed at Porto, despite FFP financial restrictions on the club prior to his appointment last summer. The former Lazio has just a year left on his contract at Porto.

Whether he would fancy dropping out of the Champions League to join the Merseyside club is unclear, although he would be handed a massive pay rise to head to England.

Marco Silva (Unattached)

When Marco Silva arrived in English football in January 2017 at Hull City and nearly kept the Tigers in the Premier League against all odds, as the media dubbed him the next ‘Mourinho’.

The 40-year-old left the Tigers when the Humberside outfit narrowly suffered relegation. There was little doubt that he would stay in the Premier League. He did joining Watford last summer.

Watford started the season in stellar form, as the Hornets occupied a top-four place early last season while playing an exciting brand of football. However, in October Everton sacked boss Ronald Koeman and approached Watford about appointing Silva as their new boss.

The Hertfordshire outfit were unsurprisingly unhappy about the approach and did not want to part company with their highly-rated boss. Everton moved on after Watford denied the Merseysiders permission to speak to Silva on numerous occasions.

Things then fell apart for the Portuguese boss as the team’s form declined. In January, the Hornets sacked Silva sighting Everton’s interest as the main cause for the teams form declining so dramatically.

Ironically, Silva may still end up as Toffees boss, as he is one of the favourites to take over on Merseyside, if as expected the clubs majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri sacks boss Sam Allardyce in the near future.

Sam Allardyce will not be Everton boss next season

I do believe that Everton will have a new man in charge next season. The vast majority of Evertonian’s want Allardyce out of their club. It is too many for the clubs hierarchy to ignore at this point.

The veteran boss has ensured safety for the Blues but at the cost of absolutely awful football. It is unclear who will be in charge of the Toffees next season. However, judging by the numerous links, the new man may just be Portuguese.

Will Everton have a Portuguese boss next season?