OPINION
As the end of the 2017/18 season ticks ever closer, it is becoming increasingly clear that Everton boss Sam Allardyce faces a tough summer.
The former England manager was brought in to replace Ronald Koeman in November, one month after the Dutchman was sacked by the Toffees.
The club’s long delay in appointing Allardyce suggested that he was not exactly their first choice to take over, and that fact has not been lost on anyone this season.
Allardyce’s appointment was unpopular with fans when it happened, and remains so despite the 63-year-old leading the Toffees clear of relegation.
And the latest report coming out from the press suggests that Allardyce is to be axed this summer as majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri spearheads a massive overhaul at Goodison Park.
As reported by the Mirror, Allardyce is set to lose his job at the end of the season as Everton look to replace him with a younger manager, with their top target being Shakhtar Donetsk boss Paulo Fonseca.
The newspaper claim that director of football Steve Walsh is set for the axe as well, with PSV transfer guru Marcel Brands eyed up to replace him.
Now, while the decision to replace Allardyce is definitely the right one, with the former England boss surely unable to take Everton where they want to be, is Fonseca really the right man for the club?
The 45-year-old former centre-back has been a coach since 2005 and took on his first manager job in 2007, going on to manage eight teams since then.
His most high-profile jobs have come at Porto and Shakhtar, with all others teams he has managed being minor sides in the Portuguese league system.
And while he has no doubt been successful with Shakhtar, it is his failure at Porto which is most worrying.
Fonseca lasted just nine months at the helm of the Portuguese giants, sacked in March 2014 with the club in third place in the Primeira Liga, nine points behind leaders Benfica.
If Fonseca cannot manage a club like Porto for longer than nine months, it is hard to see how he will take Everton forward at the speed that they want.
His success at Shakhtar is undeniable, with the club winning the Ukrainian treble last season, but it is not like Donetsk have much competition there.
Everton on the other hand will have heavy competition as they try and break into the Premier League’s top six, and it is hard to see Fonseca being the man to help them achieve that.
Moshiri is on the totally wrong track with his pursuit of the Portuguese, and he must recognise that before the club walk headlong into another failure of a season.