Is Chris Coleman an option for Everton?
The former Wales manager Chris Coleman has left Sunderland following their second successive relegation, this time from the Championship.
Now he’s out of work would Coleman be a good potential choice as new Everton manager?
After a successful and much-lauded time as his national team boss, during which he had led Wales to the semi-finals of the 2016 Euro’s, Coleman decided to step down after the Welsh failed to qualify for this summer’s World Cup.
There was much surprise though when he decided his next job would be to take the reins at just-relegated Sunderland.
The Stadium of Light has been witness to a long drawn out decline in fortunes over the past few years and after flirting with relegation from the Premier League once too often Sunderland went down last season.
The problems at the club seemed many and deep-seated from an unpopular American owner to a succession of short-term managers and failed signings.
And so it was an unexpected decision from Coleman to walk into that situation. There was a feeling that he could have waited for a Premier League job as he would surely have been a candidate for any of the recently available roles, like Watford, Southampton or Stoke.
Mind you whether fighting a Premier League relegation battle is preferable to one in the Championship is open to debate!
Sunderland were already struggling again at the bottom of the Championship when Coleman took over.
Despite his best efforts and a temporary improvement in performances, Coleman couldn’t recover the situation and Sunderland have been relegated to the third tier of English football.
The club then decided to terminate his contract in yet another surprising twist to this story.
Coleman would seem a realistic possible option for Everton if as most Evertonians fervently hope, the club do replace Sam Allardyce at the end of the season.
He has top-flight managerial experience and did a solid job when he was at Fulham.
Also his international stint has given him some additional tactical nous and he certainly found a way to mold the Wales team into an effective and consistent side, one that punched above its weight.
It helped of course having a player of the undoubted calibre of Gareth Bale to call upon and Everton don’t have a Bale in their squad.
Maybe Coleman’s arrival might help the Blues persuade Bale to come back to the Premier League and to Goodison Park..!?
More realistically though there is a player currently on Everton’s books who Coleman might get the best out of and that’s Ashley Williams.
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The Welsh international centre-back has been abysmal for Everton this season but he seems to up his game massively when playing for his country.
Perhaps Coleman would be able to restore the form of a player who when he signed for the Blues was regarded as one of the best defenders in the Premier League.
Another player that Coleman knows well who might also be a potential target for Everton, the Tottenham left-back Ben Davies. He has been sound and dependable for Spurs this season in the absence of Danny Rose.
But there are persistent rumours that Spurs will move for someone like Manchester United’s Luke Shaw in the summer.
Next: Some further alternative transfer targets
Davies, another Welsh international, could be an option as Leighton Baines long-term replacement, something Everton need to consider.