Ex-Sunderland manager linked with shock Everton move as Toffees board 'assess' Sean Dyche's future

Former Sunderland manager David Moyes is said to be in contention to replace Sean Dyche at Everton and make an emotional return to Goodison Park almost 12 years after leaving the club.

Talk over Dyche’s long-term future was ramped up over the weekend when the Toffees fell to a 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth to extend their run of form to just one win in ten Premier League games. The loss on the south coast also means Dyche’s men are sat just one point and two places above the relegation zone as they take a welcome break from league action to prepare for Thursday night’s FA Cup third round home tie with League One club Peterborough United.

There have now been widespread reports suggesting new owners the Friedkin Group are considering Dyche’s future and now ‘assessing the club’ over a 100-day period after their takeover was officially confirmed last month. The rumoured appointment of a new CEO could further complicate the situation for the current Toffees manager and there has already been speculation over who could succeed Dyche at Goodison Park.

In odds provided by Gambling.com, former Sunderland manager Moyes is currently said to be 7/4 favourite to make an emotional return to the club almost 12 years after he ended an over decade-long reign at Goodison Park to join Manchester United. The Scottish boss has been out of work since he left his role at West Ham United at the end of last season after leading the Hammers to their Europa Conference League Final win against Fiorentina during the previous campaign.

However, Moyes time in charge of Sunderland proved to be far less successful after he was unable to prevent the Black Cats from suffering relegation from the Premier League during the 2016/17 season. After replacing Sam Allardyce just under three weeks before the campaign got underway, Moyes won just eight of his 43 games in charge and departed just under a month after relegation into the Championship was confirmed by a home defeat against Bournemouth.

Moyes is not the only manager with North East connections said to be under consideration as current Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick and former Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez are both rated amongst the frontrunners to land the role if Dyche departs. The latter is rated as 2/1 second favourite to make a shock return to the Toffees just over two years after his controversial reign at Everton came to a close. After leading Merseyside rivals Liverpool to the Champions League, FA Cup and UEFA Super Cup during a six-year stay at Anfield, Benitez was an unpopular appointment at Everton during the summer of 2021 and his reign would last just 22 games before he was succeeded by Dyche during the early weeks of 2022.

England Under-21 manager and former Toffees midfielder Lee Carsley and former Chelsea managers Mauricio Sarri and Graham Potter are also said to be amongst the frontrunners to succeed Dyche if the Goodison Park hierarchy opt to make a change in the dugout over the coming weeks.