Southampton boss Ronald Koeman is reportedly heading to Everton.
Southampton manager Ronald Koeman
Pundit Trevor Sinclair has told BBC Radio Five Live that it’s feasible that Ronald Koeman uses Everton as a stepping stone to get the Arsenal job.
Koeman, 53, has impressed since leaving Feyenoord for Southampton in 2014, guiding the Saints to two top seven finishes in the Premier League despite losing a host of players in the last two years.
Now though, Koeman appears to be heading out of St. Mary’s Stadium, as the Daily Mail report that a deal with Everton is close to completion.
The Dutchman could be named Toffees boss by the end of the weekend, with Everton shareholder Farhad Moshiri believed to be offering Koeman big money to replace Roberto Martinez in the Goodison Park dugout.
It’s a huge coup for Everton to land a manager like Koeman, having finished below the Saints in each of Koeman’s two seasons with the club, and many expected him to land an even bigger job.
The Sun reported in April that Koeman was near the top of the list for Arsenal as a potential candidate to replace Arsene Wenger whenever the Frenchman leaves the Gunners, but instead Koeman is heading to Merseyside.
Now though, BBC pundit Trevor Sinclair has told BBC Radio Five Live that he thinks Koeman could actually use Everton as a stepping stone to join Arsenal at a later date.
Sinclair also put Koeman alongside Claudio Ranieri, Mauricio Pochettino, Slaven Bilic and Jurgen Klopp as one of the Premier League’s top managers, highlighting just how much of a coup this really is for Everton.
“You wouldn’t put Arsenal beyond on his reach, because you look at the managers this season who have done a good job, obviously Ranieri’s done very well, Pochettino, Klopp, Bilic and you’ve got to put Koeman in that group of managers as well – I think that’s how well he’s done.”
“I don’t want to put Everton down, but he could actually Everton as a stepping stone. He could be very successful at Everton, and then go to Arsenal when Arsene might be ready to step down,” he added.
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