Everton have sacked Rafael Benitez and now need to find a replacement, with Niko Kovac believed to be a name on the radar.
That’s according to The Mirror, who claim that Kovac is firmly in the mix to become the new Everton boss, alongside a host of other managers.
Everton chose to sack Benitez after Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Norwich City, with the Toffees winning just two of their last 15 Premier League games.
With fan anger rising by the day, Farhad Moshiri has finally decided to axe Benitez and go in another direction.
Roberto Martinez is the current favourite for the job in a bizarre move given that Everton axed him back in 2016.
If it isn’t Martinez, who could Everton end up appointing? Well, Kovac appears to be a name in the frame.
Kovac is considered to be a real contender for the job, even if it appears that he is lagging behind Martinez at the moment.
Kovac is newly available having left his post as Monaco boss on January 1st despite doing an admirable job with the Ligue 1 side.
The Croatian won 42 of his 74 games in charge and guided Monaco to a third-place finish in Ligue 1 last term.
Before that, Kovac won a league title at Bayern Munich and was sacked after just eight defeats in 65 games with the Bavarian giants.
Kovac’s two years at Eintracht Frankfurt were hugely impressive, defeating Bayern in the DFB-Pokal final in 2018 whilst securing a top eight finish.
Kovac’s total record in management stands at 140 wins in 256 games, a win rate of almost 55%.
The likes of Ante Rebic, Luka Jovic, Sebastien Haller and Aurelien Tchouameni have all benefited greatly from Kovac’s methods, which is something Everton should be considering.
Kovac has offered plenty in his managerial career so far, and would fit the profile of what Everton would want from a new manager.
It won’t be easy to beat Martinez to the job, but Kovac would have the ability to galvanise Everton just as he did at Frankfurt and Monaco.
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