Everton next manager odds: David Moyes and Vitor Pereira the early favourites

It’s been a winter of bloodletting for Premier League managers with Everton following Tottenham, Arsenal and Watford in deciding to give their boss the chop.

Marco Silva’s 18 months in charge at Goodison Park came to an end on Thursday evening, 24 hours after the Toffees had come unstuck at Anfield to drop into the relegation zone.

That 5-2 defeat to Liverpool was the final straw for majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri and his boardroom and Silva was relieved of his duties.

Thanking Silva in a statement, the club wished him well for the future and said: “Duncan Ferguson has taken temporary charge of the first team and will manage the side for the game against Chelsea on Saturday. The club aims to confirm a new permanent manager as swiftly as possible.”

Everton’s clash against Chelsea on Saturday kicks off at 12.30pm and is live on BT Sport 1.

Moyes to return?

Silva follows Mauricio Pochettino (Spurs), Quique Sánchez Flores (Watford) and Unai Emery (Arsenal) out of the Premier League and according to The Sun David Moyes could be poised to make a sensational comeback to the club he managed between 2002 and 2013.

The paper claims that the 56-year-old has “already been approached over a return” although negotiations have some way to go. However, Moyes would “relish” a return to the club that gave him the best managerial years of his life.

Long term

Key to the discussions between Moyes and Everton is the length of the contract. The Sun says the Scot is adamant that if he does return to Goodison Park it will be for the long run. He will not expose himself to a repeat of what happened at West Ham, when he was appointed on a six-month period, saved the Hammers from relegation, only to be axed that summer.

Fans’ fury

The sacking of Silva is the latest saga for the club which has lost its way since they got rid of Roberto Martinez in May 2016. Three managers have come and gone in that time and there is growing discontent among fans at the way the club is being run.

BBC Sport says the return of Moyes would not be welcomed by many supporters, and the Daily Mail says that other names in the hat are Marcelo Gallardo of River Plate in Argentina and Bournemouth’s Eddie Howe.

The Times and Sky Sports also report that Vítor Pereira, the 51-year-old Portuguese coach of Shanghai SIPG in China, is in the frame for the job.

Sky Sports News reporter Alan Myers said: “Vitor Pereira is definitely on the list and there is some suggestion to us that he is the number one target. He is on a four-man list, and that would include David Moyes, but Vitor Pereira is definitely on Everton’s radar.”

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Reactions to Silva’s sacking

Andy Hunter, The Guardian

“The club has spent around £450m on players since Moshiri’s arrival in February 2016, recouping just under half of that, but a string of poor purchases and bad appointments have resulted in another fight for survival.”

Paul Joyce, The Times

“There are Everton supporters who would be against the return of the 56-year-old Scot [Moyes], although his knowledge of the Premier League would make him less of a risk than a coach who has never worked in England and must quickly lead a lopsided squad out of the mire.”