Reported Everton managerial candidate Walter Mazzarri worked with Troy Deeney during his single season at Watford.
The feeling of Watford fans towards manager Walter Mazzarri could hardly have been clearer on the final day of last season. In fact, one particular home-made sign reading ‘Goodbye – we don’t want you’ rather summed up the disconnect between the supporters and their Italian tactician – and that was before The Hornets slumped to a 5-0 home defeat to Manchester City.
Therefore, reports in La Gazzetta dello Sport that Everton made contact with Mazzarri in the aftermath of their 1-0 home defeat to Burnley on Sunday afternoon will raise plenty of eyebrows.
After all, Watford’s collapse in the second half of the season left them finishing just one place above the drop zone while Mazzarri’s man management, not to mention his refusal to speak English in press conferences, cast doubt over his communication skills.
Whether the 55-year-old is a better candidate to kick-start the Everton revolution than Ronald Koeman then is a subject for serious debate.
Furthermore, it will be intriguing to see what affect the potential appointment on Mazzarri could have on Everton’s reportedly long-running pursuit of Troy Deeney.
The Sun reported late in the summer transfer window that The Toffees wanted to sign The Hornets’ captain and the fact that they have scored in just one of their last four Premier League games means a new striker will still be a priority in January.
Mazzarri and Deeney did not exactly see eye to eye at Vicarage Road, however. According to the Birmingham Mail, Watford turned down a £20 million bid for Deeney last summer but exit talk resurfaced when Mazzarri started to leave him out of the side towards the end of the season.
Mazzarri claimed that the pair had resolved their differences but you wonder whether the Italian’s potential arrival at Goodison Park could make or break their hopes of landing Deeney.
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