Jose Mourinho has been installed as the bookmakers’ favourite to take over at Everton should they decide to sack Sean Dyche, but there are a couple of reasons why the prospect of the Portuguese moving to Merseyside appears a non-starter.
Dyche is under pressure after a dismal run of form that has seen the Toffees slip to 16th in the Premier League, within one point of the relegation places.
Everton have won just one of their last 10 league games – a resounding 4-0 victory over Wolves on December 4. But in their other nine matches across the period, they have drawn five and lost four, scoring just one goal in the process.
It’s a sequence new owners, the Friedkin Group, are unlikely to view favourably, particularly as Premier League survival is more important than ever this season with the club due to move into their new Bramley Dock stadium in 2025-26.
What do the bookies say?
Mourinho is the 4/5 favourite with BetVictor while Unibet, LiveScoreBet and BetMGM all have him at 3/4.
UK Director at BetMGM, Sam Behar, said: “Is the Premier League ready for more of Jose Mourinho? Well, our betting suggests ‘The Special One’ could be set for another stint in England with Everton.
“He’s 3/4 to replace the under-pressure Sean Dyche at Goodison Park ahead of former Toffees boss David Moyes.
“There’s a whole host of other names but it’s Mourinho who is the clear favourite in what would be a real coup for the Merseyside club.”
BetMGM have Moyes at 4/1, David Wagner at 9/1 and both Steve Cooper and Russell Martin priced at 14s.
Could it happen?
The last-ever @EmiratesFACup third round tie at Goodison Park. COYB!⏳ pic.twitter.com/d0kUSdHtMn
— Everton (@Everton) January 9, 2025
Well, first and foremost, Dyche is still in place although restlessness is growing from a fanbase that has been remarkably patient despite several years of uninspiring football.
Everton face Peterborough United in the third round of the FA Cup tonight, assuming the game gets the go-ahead. A defeat is unlikely but the next two Premier League games, home clashes with Aston Villa and Tottenham, could decide Dyche’s fate.
Mourinho took over at Turkish side Fenerbahce in June and has done a solid job. Fener lie second in the Super Lig but they are unlikely win the title due to the excellence of rivals Galatasaray, who are eight points clear at the top.
The stumbling blocks
It is not a certainty that Mourinho would fancy swapping Istanbul for Merseyside. Fenerbahce are a club with a massive fanbase and almost certainly guaranteed European football every season.
Barring an unlikely FA Cup run that culminates in Wembley success, Everton won’t be playing continental football anytime soon.
Indeed, more years of toil and struggle appear more likely and Mourinho has spoken previously of his lack of appetite for a relegation battle.
He told Sky Sports in October: “Honestly, that has to be the hardest thing, much more difficult than to play for titles. It’s very, very hard emotionally because it’s something that changes lives. You know, you stay in the Premier League or you’re relegated, it changes lives, changes lots of things. Brave guys that do it.”
Mourinho also has previous with the Friedkin Group.
As owners of Roma, they sacked the two-time Champions League winner after they deemed he was not getting value for money from an expensively assembled squad.
At the time of his dismissal last January, the Giallorossi were ninth in Serie A and struggling to reach the Champions League places.
Afterwards Mourinho claimed he had been “eliminated by someone who doesn’t understand football,” referring to Dan Friedkin.
It seems unlikely he would go down that path again.