Vitor Pereira is still being considered as the potential next manager of Everton but suggestions he is current front-runner for the post are wide of the mark.
The ECHO understands Everton are still expected to hold talks with Pereira over the vacancy but he is just one of a number of names under consideration at the present time and nothing is imminent at this stage.
Rafa Benitez was sacked earlier this month after the 2-1 defeat to bottom club Norwich City on January 15 left him with just one win from his last 13 Premier League games.
Duncan Ferguson, who had served as assistant to both Benitez and his predecessor Carlo Ancelotti has stepped up as caretaker boss for the second time, having previously overseen a four-game spell in December 2019, but his current tenure started with a disappointing performance in a 1-0 home defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday.
In his pre-match press conference for that fixture, the Scot suggested he was too inexperienced himself to be considered for the role.
Reports from Pereira’s Portuguese homeland had suggested he was already close to taking the role but with the 53-year-old having also been linked to the position in the past, many Evertonians remain concerned over his total lack of experience in English football, something that all the club’s previous overseas managers already possessed.
Pereira’s career has mostly been outside of the game’s major leagues – his only spell in one of Europe’s ‘big five’ was a five-month stint at 1860 Munich that ended with relegation from the German second tier in 2017 – and he left his most recent post, a second spell with Turkish side Fenerbahce last month after just half a season in charge.
Pereira, Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard’s names have all been discussed by Goodison Park chiefs.
