Marco Silva has been sacked by Everton after the Toffees fell deeper into trouble on Wednesday night.
An embarrassing 5-2 defeat to arch-rivals Liverpool sent Everton tumbling into the Premier League’s relegation zone following a run of nine defeats in their opening 15 games.
And the Portuguese has paid the price of his job as members of the Toffees hierarchy met to decide his future on Thursday.
Duncan Ferguson will take temporary charge of the Toffees’ Premier League clash at home to Chelsea – with talkSPORT bringing you full LIVE commentary of the match on GameDay.
But who will replace Silva on a permanent basis? Things don’t look like getting any easier for Everton, with their next four games coming against Chelsea, Manchester United, Leicester, and Arsenal.
There’s still an abnormally crowded treatment room at Goodison Park, with Seamus Coleman and Fabian Delph missing the last few games alongside long-term absentees Andre Gomes and Jean-Philippe Gbamin.
Here, talkSPORT.com looks at six candidates who may come in to try and rescue the struggling Toffees.
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What a story this would be. Reports suggest Moyes is set for a sensational return to Goodison Park six years after leaving the club.
Moyes enjoyed 11 successful years with the Toffees between 2002 and 2013 before replacing Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.
But since then, it’s all gone downhill for the Scotsman, with a lack of success at Old Trafford followed by poor spells at Real Sociedad, Sunderland, and West Ham.
Everton look set to offer him a chance to revive his flailing career.
Pereira, 51, has emerged as one of the frontrunners for the job.
He is currently in charge of Shanghai SIPG in the Chinese Super League and is one of the highest-paid bosses in world football.
Pereira was recently offered the post of managing the Chinese national team and has managed in Turkey with Fenerbahce as well as in Greece with Olympiakos.
He made his name in his homeland, with a two-year stint at Porto, where he won two league titles.
It is understood Pereira would be open to speaking to Everton, although they will have to make a lucrative offer to tempt him away from China.
The current River Plate manager’s name has also been thrown into the hat.
Gallardo, the former Argentina international, is the most successful boss in River’s history, having managed there since 2014.
The 43-year-old, touted as a future Barcelona manager, is reportedly considering a change after five trophy-laden years in South America.
The Bournemouth manager would be taking a huge gamble by leaving the Cherries for Everton.
But according to the bookies, Howe is third-favourite to take over if Silva is sacked.
Bournemouth aren’t exactly flying high themselves at the moment, with just two points separating them from the Toffees.
Turning to a former Liverpool manager would be quite something for Everton to do but desperate times and all that.
The Spaniard has been linked with both Everton and West Ham following their dismal form in the Premier League.
Benitez left Newcastle in the summer to sign a whopping £12million-a-year deal with Chinese Super League club Dalian Yifang.
However, the Chinese Super League have reportedly protected themselves from an approach for Benitez by inserting a £20m release clause in his contract.
Could the former Arsenal manager be set for an immediate return to football?
It might not have worked out for him at the Emirates, but Emery remains a manager with serious pedigree.
His work at Sevilla and Paris Saint-Germain still deserves credit, and the Toffees could certainly do much worse than the Spanish tactician.
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