Everton are looking to revamp their management infrastructure at the club with Shakhtar Donetsk boss Paulo Fonesca being looked at as a possible replacement for Sam Allardyce. The Toffees are interested to bring in the Portuguese boss next summer as they look to galvanize an expensively assembled Everton team.
Ronald Koeman has brought in an arsenal of signings last summer that saw Everton spend a net amount of £142.38m. It was a statement of ambition from the Merseyside club. The board expected the team to challenge the ‘top six’ of the English Premier League; to fight for a European spot this time. However, for Everton, their fairytale turned into a nightmare.
The summer began with great joy with the return of their boyhood star Wayne Rooney but things have gone horribly wrong since. They have failed miserably against the top six and are yet to register a win against any of them. Their Thursday night outings in the Europa League have been in sync with their disappointing domestic form with Everton finishing second from bottom in the group.
As their form slumped down through a never-ending spiral, it saw the hammer fall on their ex-boss Ronald Koeman. Koeman’s sacking did little to change the club’s fortunes as they became the league’s bashing boys.
However, as the fans and pundits stood to wait for Everton to disappear into the lower leagues, the board appointed Sam Allardyce as the new manager. Big Sam has a history of turning around fortunes for a club in crisis. He has lifted the blue team of Merseyside from a relegation threat to a respectable mid-table position.
Goodison Park changed from a depressing arena of uncertainty to a place of tentative hope. Everton were no longer the bogey side teams were craving to face. In the space of a few weeks, the scenario at Merseyside lifted. Everton became a resilient team with a good defensive organization.
However, their latest slump has once again started to worry the board and the fans. Allardyce’s men have won just two of their last 10 matches and new signings like Cenk Tosun continue to deceive to flatter. This would ideally make the Everton board hope that Allardyce can see out this season for Everton with a respectable spot on the table and make way for a more dynamic manager next season, thus bringing in Fonseca.
Fonseca plied his footballing career in the lower leagues of Portugal before going on to manage Porto. He made his move to Shakhtar in 2016 and has been a hit at the club. However, his contract is set to expire this summer, making him a good viable target for Everton come next season.
