David Moyes is being tipped with a sensational return to Everton as the pressure continues to build on under-fire boss Sean Dyche.
The ex-Burnley manager suffered another bitter blow on Tuesday night when Everton crashed out of the League Cup at home to Southampton.
Having taken the lead in the first half through Abdoulaye Doucoure’s opener, Everton were quickly pegged back by the visitors, with Taylor Harwood-Bellis netting the leveller.
That’s how the score remained right up until the full-time whistle, with a penalty shoot-out needed to decide the winner - one Everton ended up on the wrong side of.
It’s yet more misery for Dyche and Everton, who just last weekend threw away a two-goal lead during a 3-2 defeat for the second consecutive Premier League outing.
Talk of Dyche being moved on has picked up since, with former Premier League midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker tipping Moyes for a Goodison Park return.
Speaking to the BBC’s Football Daily podcast, Reo-Coker commented: “When you look at what’s happening now as well yes Sean Dyche was [already there] but Everton have been trending this same way for so long.
“I’m not putting it out there but there is a certain David Moyes who knows that club very well, inside out, who currently isn’t managing anyone.
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“The pressure is different now on Sean Dyche, where Everton might look to change the manager and bring someone else in for new ideas or a fresh start.”
Despite Everton’s recent travails, Dyche believes his side are trending in the right direction, with the performance against Southampton a positive one.
Assessing his side’s performance post-match, Dyche said: "After piecing together the team this morning, with three players going down ill overnight, I think we've given as good as we could get with the players available," he said after the loss on penalties.
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"To piece that together and deliver a performance that I thought could win, especially with the chances…I know that's been a challenge from even before my time, taking the chances that kill a game, and we haven't done that tonight. But a lot of the performance was right enough to win the game.
"Some of the play was good at times, effective, we opened them enough times to go and win the game, but we didn't take chances and you go down on penalties."
Everton, desperate for an uptick in form, return to action this weekend when they face Leicester City in an early-season six-pointer at the King Power Stadium.