"?Everton's search for a replacement for sacked former boss Roberto Martinez appears to have taken a positive step in the right direction following reports that talks have taken place with departing Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini.
According to the Daily Mail, Pellegrini has met with ambitious new Toffees shareholder Farhad Moshiri, with the Chilean's 'suitability' for the position a topic of conversation.
It has long been thought that Pellegrini would be happy to stay in the Premier League after this time at the Etihad Stadium came to an end, and the chance to go to Everton has the added bonus of allowing him to remain in the north west of England where he has grown comfortable.
The Mail report also suggests that Unai Emery, the man who recently guided Sevilla to a record fifth Europa League/UEFA Cup triumph and enjoyed a 49% win rate during four years at Valencia, is also a major consideration.
Ronald Koeman is another name regularly linked with the job since Martinez was formally dismissed earlier this month. However, his allegiance to the ongoing project at Southampton appears to be too strong to tempt him to turn his back on St Mary's for a club on a similar footing.
Frank de Boer, who recently left his job at Ajax citing the need of a fresh challenge after numerous Eredivisie successes, had previously been the favourite to take the Goodison hot-seat. Both his agent and twin brother, Ronald, have both specifically mentioned Everton as being of interest.
Whoever is named new manager, it is clear that just from those select few in the frame that Moshiri has big ideas and means business - even Jose Mourinho has been linked to the job on more than one occasion over the last few weeks.
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