Nuno Espírito Santo is considering an offer to take over at Everton, following the sacking of Ronald Koeman, but is inclined to stay at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Nuno was approached by Everton and had an attractive proposal put before him. Conversations have been held in the last day and a final decision is expected swiftly but he is reluctant to leave Wolves, whom he believes he can lead to promotion from the Championship and where he is popular with supporters.
Turning down an offer to coach in the Premier League at a club where the margin for swift improvement is significant would reinforce his position at Wolves, and that too is a factor to be taken into account. There is also the Jorge Mendes connection at Molineux – Nuno was the Portuguese agent’s first client and remains close to him. Mendes is a friend and business partner of Wolves’ owners. Nuno took over at Wolves in May and the 2-0 win at Norwich on Tuesday put them top of the table. His previous coaching jobs include spells at Porto and Valencia.
David Unsworth has been in temporary charge at Everton since Koeman was sacked 24 hours after a 5-2 defeat by Arsenal on 22 October. The club’s academy and under-23s manager has until the international break to press his claims for the permanent position he craves, and has support inside the club, but defeats in his two games in charge have undermined the former Everton defender’s prospects.
The poor first-half display at Leicester City on Sunday, when Everton conceded both goals in a 2-0 defeat that has left them third from bottom of the Premier League, was particularly damaging. Unsworth has two more matches – away at Lyon in the Europa League on Thursday and the crucial league game at home against Watford on Sunday – before the international break in which Everton hope to make a permanent appointment.
Everton have refused to comment on managerial candidates apart from Unsworth and that remains the situation with Nuno. The final decision on Koeman’s permanent successor rests with Farhad Moshiri, Everton’s major shareholder, who was instrumental in the dismissal of Roberto Martínez as manager and hiring Koeman on a £6m-a-year contract from Southampton.
Wayne Rooney, Leighton Baines and Phil Jagielka will not be involved against Lyon on Thursday, with Unsworth having opted to rest the trio.
Michael Keane, who is nursing a foot injury, is another player not to have travelled to France, as is James McCarthy (hamstring). The travelling party does feature the 18-year-old defender Morgan Feeney, who will make his senior debut if he plays.