Everton approach ‘rejected’ by Prem rival; club ‘look elsewhere’ and consider ‘pairing’ two legends

Brentford have reportedly ‘rejected’ an approach from Everton to speak with Thomas Frank and the Dane is ‘not keen’ on replacing Frank Lampard.

The Toffees are once again looking for a new manager as it was announced on Monday that they have parted company with Lampard.

The former Chelsea head coach was at Everton for just under a year as he replaced Rafael Benitez in January 2021.

Lampard was able to guide Everton to safety last term but he has come under growing pressure in recent months amid the club’s awful run of form. They have won just one of their past 14 games across all competitions and they are joint-bottom in the Premier League.

Everton do not have a game until February 4 as they are no longer involved in the FA Cup. This means they have a bit of time to identify Lampard’s replacement, but according to reports, they have already been rejected by one of their targets.

It was initially claimed that Frank was their ‘top target’ but Football Insider are reporting that Brentford have ‘rejected’ Everton’s approach for their head coach.

Everton ‘turned their attention’ to Frank after deciding to let Lampard go but the Brentford boss is ‘not keen on taking the job at Goodison Park’.

This means Everton will have to ‘look elsewhere’ and they are ‘considering various options’. The report claims that the club’s hierarchy are going into this process with open minds, though ‘a proven Premier League manager who has a track record of success in the division and of keeping teams up’ could be preferred.

Sean Dyche and Marcelo Bielsa ‘fit into that bracket’ and the latter has reportedly already ‘held talks’ with Everton owner Farhad Moshiri.

The report adds that a ‘Goodison idol’ may be an alternative with Duncan Ferguson and Wayne Rooney said to be ‘options’. It is suggested that they ‘could even be paired together’.

Ferguson has a lot of experience as an assistant but he left Everton last year to pursue a manager’s job. Rooney meanwhile previously managed Derby County and is now at MLS side DC United.

Rooney was linked with Everton before Lampard took over. Back in November, he admitted that it would be a “dream” to manage the Toffees in the future.

“Obviously Everton and Manchester United are the two clubs who are really close to my heart so to manage one of them two would be a dream. I’m still gaining a lot of experience from what I’m doing,” Rooney said.

“You want to learn, and I want to go into Everton or Manchester United, I want to go in there and be able to give the best version of me. I’d be naive to say, ‘I’m going to go and manage Manchester United in the next year or so.’

“For me, it’s about putting the work in and developing myself and if I do that and I do it in the right way, then I feel these jobs, these opportunities will come to me eventually.”

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