Everton have sacked Marco Silva following 18 months as manager.
Silva’s departure from Goodison Park on Thursday came barely 24 hours after he had presided over a humiliating 5-2 defeat to Liverpool in the Merseyside derby.
Blues’ majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri and chairman Bill Kenwright were both present at Finch Farm to deliver the news to the Portuguese coach.
Silva ended his tenure with nine defeats from the opening 15 Premier League fixtures with the club currently finding themselves in the relegation zone.
Former Everton striker and long-serving first team coach Duncan Ferguson has been placed in temporary charge for Saturday’s lunchtime visit of Chelsea.
The Goodison hierarchy confirmed that they intend to appoint a new permanent manager ‘as swiftly as possible, with a number of candidates already discussed.
Former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino and Napoli’s three-time Champions League-winning manager Carlo Ancelotti are among the current favourites.
Also in contention are ex-Valencia coach Marcelino, Vitor Pereira and Ajax’s Erik ten Hag, who is believed to be director of football Marcel Brands’ preference.
Pereira won domestic titles during spells in charge of Porto and Olympiacos respectively before taking the reins at Chinese club Shanghai SIPG last year.
The 51-year-old was previously interviewed for the Everton hot seat in 2013 before Roberto Martinez was eventually appointed as David Moyes’ successor.
Moyes’ return to the club where he spent 11 years prior to joining Manchester United has also not been discounted in the search for Silva’s replacement.