Everton in contact with manager who helped Spanish club end their 10 year trophy drought

Everton sacked their manager Frank Lampard after the club lost two relegation six pointers against Southampton and West Ham United. The search for a new manager has begun and former Valencia manager Marcelino is on the Everton shortlist.

Everton have parted ways with Lamprd with less than a year in charge. Lampard did orchestrate a miraculous escape from relegation last season but the Toffees have gotten into even deeper mess this time around and there seems to be no turning point. Lampard’s side managed to get just three wins in 20 Premier League games.

With a toothless attack that netted just 15 goals in 20 games, EFC find themselves in a deep mess. The situation seems to be repairable but the club will need to get it absolutely right with their new managerial appointment. There is no scope of errors this time as EFC are right on the brink of relegation. The Merseysiders need 25 points in 18 games to reach the safety number of 40 points.

Some names like Sean Dyche, David Moyes, Thomas Frank, Marcelo Bielsa and Wayne Rooney are already floating with internal discussions going on between the board members to finalize the next manager. So far, none of the talks are advanced and the search still remains wide open.

Everton in contact with Marcelino for manager position

According to the Spanish media outlet Marca, on the discussion table, there is the name of Marcelino. The Toffees has reached out to the Spanish manage to know if he is interested in taking over the reins at Goodison Park. At this point, there is nothing more than just contact between the two parties.

Marcelino has never coached outside of Spain and was last with Athletic Bilbao in 2022. Prior to his one year stint with Bilbao, he managed Valencia from 2017 until 2019, where he guided Los Che to a Copa del Rey trophy in the 2018-19 season, helping the club end a 10 year trophy drought.

Marcelino’s teams often play a very direct brand of football with focus on transitions. His teams employ a high degree on pressing and rely on the defensive solidity that his formation brings. He prefers to deploy his side in a 4-4-2, sometimes with defensive block. In possession, the shape changes to 4-2-2-2 but the focus still remains of the defensive structure and positioning.

At times, out of the front two, one of the forward drops deep and forms a 4-4-1-1, often acting as a link between the midfield and the poacher. Marcelino’s sides might not play the most attacking brand of football but they know how to extract the results.

As things stand, nothing is advanced and Everton are still evaluating a number of managerial targets. A decision will need to be taken soon.

Should Marcelino become the next Everton manager?