Everton’s search for their new manager may now have to continue, as Bild report Borussia Monchengladbach are lining Niko Kovac up as possible replacement if they sack Adi Hutter.
The Blues are on the hunt for a new head coach after firing Rafa Benitez earlier this month. He oversaw just five Premier League wins in 19 games, and saw out his tenure with defeat at relegation-threatened Norwich. Now, Everton are just three-points above the Canaries.
Reports have linked multiple coaches, both in and out of work, with the vacant Goodison Park hot seat. Among them, the Mirror claim Everton invited Kovac to make a presentation to their board over becoming their next manager. They also reached out to Rudi Garcia.
Kovac is currently unemployed after AS Monaco sacked the 50-year-old at the start of the year. The Ligue 1 side parted company with the former Bayern Munich boss after falling to 17-points adrift of leaders PSG. He left with the Monegasques just sixth in the standings.
Monaco had finished the 2020/21 French top-flight season in third and reached the Coupe de France final under Kovac. He also won the Bundesliga title and a DFB-Pokal with Bayern Munich in 2018/19. But Der FCB failed to conquer Europe during his 16-months in charge.
Borussia Monchengladbach may rival Everton to make Kovac their next manager
But Everton could now risk missing out on hiring Kovac as their next manager, as Borussia Monchengladbach set eyes on the Berlin-born, Croatian amid doubt over Hutter’s future.
Die Fohlen are in a relegation scrap amid a torrid Bundesliga campaign under Hutter, who replaced Marco Rose last summer. The Borussia-Park hierarchy turned to the 51-year-old Austrian following his successes at Eintracht Frankfurt, but have only won six of 20 games.
Borussia Monchengladbach have also lost 10 league fixtures, so have now given Hutter two further fixtures to save his job. Otherwise, Die Fohlen will explore luring Kovac back to the Bundesliga. He had intended to take the rest of the season off to recharge the batteries.
Kovac could rethink his decision to take some time out if offered an attractive position. But Everton or Borussia Monchengladbach may also face rival German interest to hire Kovac as their next manager. He is a coach his former stars like Kevin-Prince Boateng praise vividly.
“I’d tell any player who’s going to be coached by Niko Kovac: ‘Get ready, because you’re going to do a lot of work, but you will definitely get better’,” he said of his former Eintracht boss, via Bundesliga.com. “That’s what sets Kovac apart; he improves every single player.”
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