Dominic King, the Daily Mail’s northern football correspondent, reports that Everton are apparently all set to announce former Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo as their new manager, with Nuno, 47, most likely to be formally offered the job this weekend with an unveiling by Everton early next week.
Since the sudden departure of Carlo Ancelotti for Real Madrid on June 1 that shell-shocked all and sundry at Goodison Park, Everton have been without a manager, with The Mail reporting that Everton owner Farhad Moshiri had considered numerous other managerial alternatives, from ex-Blues chief David Moyes, former Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez, Manuel Pellegrini, Tottenham-bound Paulo Fonseca and Christophe Galtier to a few others.
But at this latest juncture the ball seems to have settled oat Nuno’s feet, with the latter having also made a sudden departure from Wolves at the end of the season and who had looked set to become Crystal Palace boss this week, only for the move to break down. Allegedly, Palace ended talks with Nuno partly due to the size of the coaching staff he demanded, reports The Guardian.
Also, the influence of Nuno’s agent, Jorge Mendes, in particular with the director of football, Marcel Brands, is another mitigating factor to consider for Everton.
Having been contracted to Wolves until the summer of 2023, Nuno spent four years as Wolves manager, during which time he led them back to the Premier League, and delivered two successive seventh-placed finishes, an FA Cup semi-final and a Europa League quarter-final. He parted ways with the club following the conclusion of this season, which saw them finish 13th.
Nuno, a goalkeeper in his playing days, previously managed Rio Ave between May 2012 and May 2014, Valencia from July 2014 until November 2015, and Porto during the 2016-17 season. His four years at Wolves, where he was manager for 199 games, was by some distance his longest spell in charge of the same club.
Nuno’s Everton record against Wolves was two wins (one at Molineux and at Goodison Park), three defeats and one draw.