Southampton manager Ronald Koeman will weigh up whether to take the reins at Everton within the next week.
Following Roberto Martinez’s sacking as Blues boss, Koeman has emerged as the preferred candidate of the club’s majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri, who will afford the new man a transfer budget of £100 million this summer to revitalise the Goodison Park club’s fortunes.
The 53-year-old had appeared to rule himself out of the running as the next Everton manager when questioned about his future with the Saints earlier this week.
But Koeman, who has one year remaining on his current deal at St Mary’s, will assess the offer to replace Martinez after the South Coast club’s final Premier League game of this season, against Crystal Palace, has taken place.
Should Southampton qualify for next season’s Europa League, it is increasingly unlikely that the former Valencia and Benfica boss will be persuaded to move to Merseyside.