Paulo Fonseca reportedly rejects Everton in order to wait on Arsenal

Everton fans have had a rough year, but are united behind a single fear - that Sam Allardyce is in the manager’s chair when the 2018-19 season opens. It had seemed a foregone conclusion that the big man would not return after awkwardly guiding the Blues to safety, given his archaic football, resentful attitude, and propensity to turtle against any side in the league.

Now, though, the situation is murky. Everton have four consecutive results, including a Merseyside Derby draw and a comfortable away win at Huddersfield. Southampton and West Ham remain on the schedule, and it’s not a reach to think that Allardyce could guide the boys to six points from those two games against relegation candidates.

To make matters worse, it looks as if Farhad Moshiri’s number one managerial candidate has said thanks but no thanks. According to Spanish journalist Guillem Balague (via the Express), Shakhtar Donetsk’s Paulo Fonseca has rejected Everton so he can possibly replace Arsene Wenger at Arsenal.

“Fonseca is another one,” Balague said on his YouTube channel.

“Fonseca for two years since (Mircea) Lucescu disappeared, moved on, he actually took charge from the legend that he was and in those two years, especially at the beginning with not much investment, he made the players better.

“Fred certainly, Marlos, a lot of players at Shakhtar Donetsk had got stuck and he made them better.

“Even though his time at Shakhtar Donetsk didn’t start very well, I think he was knocked out of the qualifiers of the Champions League, you’ve seen a different Shakhtar Donetsk since.

“It’s something that has been observed by Premier League clubs, including Everton.

“Everton approached him and he said no to Everton.

“Why? Because he is thinking of Arsenal. He has been told Arsenal are interested in him.”

If true, it’s a massive blow to the Blues. Fonseca is one of the best up-and-coming managers in the game, particularly after guiding his current club to surprising Champions League success.

It has been said that Everton need their own Mauricio Pochettino, and Paulo Fonseca seemed to check those boxes. If he’s unavailable, lets hope that Moshiri is willing to get creative, rather than sticking with Big Sam or recycling another Premier League re-tread. Marco Silva and Arsene Wenger are starting to not look so bad...