Everton are reportedly still interested in returning an old manager to Goodison Park…

What’s the latest?

As per transfer insider Dean Jones, Roberto Martinez remains in the frame for the Toffees hot seat should Frank Lampard be dismissed.

Having resigned from the Belgium job following their World Cup exit last night, he will likely become even more desirable to Farhad Moshiri and Bill Kenwright, who have a history of orchestrating ‘romantic’ returns to the club as they did with Wayne Rooney.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Jones issued the following update:

“In the background, of course, they’re having to consider who else they would turn to. 

“I have heard that Martinez is one that they would be willing to consider, but I’ve also heard that Nuno [Santo] is one that they like and he is certainly someone that they might be looking to explore next.”

Heading for disaster

Few times in football is a failed manager given a second chance, but with the owners of this Merseyside outfit, their unpredictability makes it a scary prospect for fans.

Despite being dismissed from the Everton job in 2016, throughout his tenure he showed signs that he might have been the man to take them to the next level.

His debut season boasted a fifth-place finish, with a free-flowing attacking football that had seldom been seen under David Moyes.

But it seemed that the 49-year-old was riding the coattails of the Scotsman, and once his defensive structure had worn off they began to suffer.

In the two seasons following they would finish 11th, and whilst fans would likely take that in a heartbeat now, with the defensive insecurity it brought and the increased quality of the league nowadays, it could see them heading for disaster.

They conceded 50 and 55 in those seasons respectively, with his quotes to Jamie Carragher particularly damning of his naïve and often reckless nature: “We are not going to be a team that is just going to be solid, that keeps a clean sheet and waits for a chance to score”

His latest venture has only seen his stock plummet further, as his stubbornness saw him mishandle arguably Belgium’s greatest-ever crop of players.

Despite a third-place finish in the 2018 World Cup, a group-stage exit this year brought an end to an unsuccessful tenure of international management.

With a relegation with Wigan Athletic on his CV too, it seems that his standing in the game only falters with each job he takes.

Although Frank Lampard is hardly the answer to all the issues plaguing Everton, he at least boasts a pragmatism when the situation demands; something which Martinez will never have.