United Kingdom, June 3 – Victor Wanyama’s manager Ronald Koeman is expected to hold imminent talks with Everton about succeeding Roberto Martinez although Southampton are still yet to receive a formal approach and have their own contract offer on the table for their manager.
Koeman only returned from holiday yesterday (Thursday) following positive negotiations with Southampton before he left about extending his current deal but has been made well aware that Everton still regard him as a leading candidate and could offer a far bigger salary as well as an enhanced transfer budget.
The clear expectation around Southampton until these last 24 hours has been that Koeman would prefer to stay at St Mary’s, where he is happy and has twice led the club to their best Premier League finish, but the sense now is that he would like to listen to the ambitious plans of Farhad Moshiri following his investment at Everton.
Koeman has already indicated that he would be unhappy at Southampton to have to again oversee the sale of key players this summer after major upheavals in each of the past two years and has pointed out that, at some stage, his ability to keep pushing Southampton up the table will depend on what resources are available to him.
The money that is available to spend on new players and potentially drive Everton’s infrastructure forward in the long-term will form a far bigger part of his thinking than simply the salary on offer.
Southampton will not get involved in any sort of bidding war with Everton over their manager’s contract and, if Koeman’s demands were to exceed what they regard as sensible, will simply seek compensation and move on.
There has always been an appreciation that Koeman was unlikely to stay in the far long-term and a recognition that any future opportunities at Barcelona, Arsenal or the Dutch national team would probably be impossible to resist.
Until now, though, the clear belief was that a club like Everton would not represent significant progression for Koeman to be seriously tempted.
Even so, Southampton do have huge confidence in their internal recruitment processes after the repeated success of their managerial appointments since the Liebherr family’s takeover and the choices of Alan Pardew, Nigel Adkins, Mauricio Pochettino and now Koeman.
Should Koeman decide to leave, Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe would be an obvious leading candidate, although his attachment to the remarkable work he has done just along the south coast would be difficult to break.
It is also understood that Everton still want to speak with other prospective managers and complete their full intended appointment process, although Koeman is clearly now the leading candidate.