Everton are considering a move to bring in former Granada boss Diego Martinez as a replacement for Rafael Benitez – despite links to Leeds United.
Everton decided to sack boss Rafael Benitez on Sunday afternoon, wasting little time after a 2-1 defeat at lowly Norwich City.
Fans weren’t on board with Benitez’s arrival from the very start, so it’s no great surprise to see his reign end this way.
Everton now need to find a replacement for the Spaniard, and it could be one of Benitez’s compatriots who comes in.
The Mirror report that Everton will consider appointing Diego Martinez as their new boss alongside a host of other names.
Martinez isn’t a household name in English football, but he built up quite the reputation in Spain.
The 41-year-old coached up through the Sevilla ranks before a year in charge of Osasuna between 2017 and 2018.
Granada is where Martinez really excelled, winning more than 47% of his 146 games in charge of the club.
Martinez guided Granada to promotion in his first season, then finished seventh in his first La Liga campaign.
Martinez then remarkably guided Granada to the quarter-finals of the Europa League in 2021, losing out to Manchester United.
When his Granada contract expired at the end of last season, Martinez chose to leave – and has been immersing himself in English football culture.
Martinez told The Guardian in November that he had spent time observing Benitez’s coaching methods at Everton.
He even went to Goodison Park to watch an Everton match, branding Toffees fans ‘so loud’ even after something as simple as a won header.
The interesting factor with Martinez is Leeds United. Diario de Cadiz reported just last week that Martinez is expected to take charge of Leeds next season.
Martinez knows Leeds chief Victor Orta from their time together at Sevilla, and with Marcelo Bielsa potentially leaving in the summer, Martinez is seen as a replacement.
Everton could now swoop in and ruin those plans, with the Toffees considering Martinez to succeed Benitez.
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