Super-agent Kia Joorabchian admits Everton were offered the chance to hire Vitor Pereira before appointing the now-departed Frank Lampard at Goodison Park, speaking to talkSPORT (January 25th, 11.30am).
For the second time in the space of 12 months, the Toffees find themselves fearing for their top-flight status while scouring the market for a new head coach.
Lampard will always have his admirers amongst a disillusioned Everton fanbase – it was he who swooped in and saved this creaking old institution from the jaws of relegation last May after all – but the 44-year-old’s tactical limitations were clear to all to see following a winless run of 10 games in all competitions.
Lampard was sacked on Monday; an insipid 2-0 defeat at fellow strugglers West Ham United the final straw.
And we will never know how differently things might have worked out at Goodison Park had Everton not got cold feet about Vitor Pereira before handing the reigns to the Chelsea legend.
Everton could have hired Vitor Pereira before Frank Lampard
“I recommended Vitor Pereira and they went for Frank Lampard,” Joorabchian says. “That was very much a board decision.”
The perceived connection between Joorabchian and under-fire owner Farhad Moshiri was a major reason why Toffees supporters turned on Pereira; many seeing the former Olympiakos, Porto and Fenerbahce coach as very much ‘Moshiri’s man’.
Joorabchian, however, is determined to play down his perceived role in Everton’s sad decline; pointing out that only three of his clients have joined the Toffees during the Moshiri era.
“We offered them many, many players. They turned them all down,” says Joorabchian, who helped Richarlison seal a £50 million move from Watford in 2018.
“All the signings in the summer – (James) Tarkowski, (Conor) Coady, (Neal) Maupay, (Dwight) McNeil – all the loans and all the signings they did were done purely by them and the board. We didn’t have any involvement whatsoever
“We speak to all the owners. I speak to quite a few owners. That is our job; it’s to present our clients. Everton haven’t taken any of our advice, so we can’t be that influential!”
Who will be Everton’s next manager?
Pereira, a Portuguese tactician with eight trophies on his CV, eventually took over Corinthians instead. He lead the club to fourth place in Brazil’s Serie A. Pereira has since taken over at Copa Libertadores winners Flamengo.
Joorabchian, meanwhile, does admit to having played a key role in Everton’s appointment of Carlo Ancelotti; pointing out that the now-Real Madrid boss achieved far more than his successors and predecessors during 18 months on Merseyside.
“Apologies for presenting our five-time champions league winning, multiple league-winning manager! (Ancelotti’s spell) was one of the only years in the last seven when Everton had not been in a relegation situation in December,” Joorabchian argues.
“You say it was a bad fit, but they sat top of the table for most of the Christmas period.”
Everton, it should not be forgotten, were second behind Liverpool as recently as Boxing Day 2020.
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