Everton are set to hold a second round of talks with Frank Lampard over the vacant manager’s job at Goodison Park.
Lampard has been out of management since leaving Chelsea last January following a run of poor results – he was also linked with Crystal Palace in the summer before the Eagles hired Patrick Vieira.
Vitor Pereira had emerged as the early favourite to get the Everton job, having been backed by owner Farhad Moshiri despite opposition from within the club hierarchy.
Seemingly not convinced by Pereira, who defended his credentials in a bizarre interview on Sky Sports, other senior executives have been pushing for Lampard and Wayne Rooney, whose feats in extremely challenging circumstances at Derby have impressed, to be considered.
Pereira is flying in to Liverpool for more talks before the weekend, but he isn’t yet guaranteed the job as 90min can confirm that Lampard will also get a second interview. The 43-year-old already spoke with Everton officials once last week.
Some fans appear to be in favour of Lampard being appointed ahead of Pereira, with graffiti outside Goodison Park this week reading, ‘Pereira Out, Lampard In’.
Publicly discussing his talks with Everton, Pereira said on Wednesday: “I think they were enthusiastic on what I proposed to them: an intensive game, a pressing game, a game with possession. We need to give confidence again to these players. We need to approach the fantastic supporters again.
“This is what I proposed to them. What I felt in the meetings, was that they were very positive with interviews. They have other candidates. This is a time for decisions. Just to wait for the decision. To be calm.”
90min understands that caretaker boss Duncan Ferguson, as well as Rooney, are also still in the running to take over.
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