Moving to Everton during the summer was an incredibly brave move for Rafael Benitez to have made.
The former Liverpool manager will have understood how badly his appointment will have gone down with Reds fans, but to his credit, he didn’t shirk the responsibility once in the Goodison Park hot-seat.
Things haven’t gone according to plan of late, however, with the Toffees tumbling down the Premier League table.
Ahead of their Boxing Day fixture against Burnley, Everton currently sit in 14th place, and there appears to be a very real sense that the Spaniard might not have too much longer left in the job.
Assuming that he hasn’t been sacked from his position before the turn of the year, Benitez has a chance to resurrect things with the January transfer window coming at just the right time to give his side the boost that they need.
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One player that is of interest to the Everton manager is one of his former players, and, were Benitez successful in landing him in the new year, it’s a foregone conclusion that Liverpool supporters won’t be happy about it.
According to Mundo Deportivo cited by the Daily Star, Benitez wants a reunion with Barcelona outcast, Philippe Coutinho.
The Brazilian was a real hit on the red half of Merseyside, though as soon as he returned there with Barcelona, his status as an enemy of the club was secured.
Clearly, if his next port of call was to be wearing the blue of Everton, that’s unlikely go down well across Stanley Park.