Next Manager Betting: Everton to go Dutch as Aston Villa eye Italian

Michael Lintorn
13 May 2016

Frank de Boer and Ronald Koeman are both thought to be on the Everton shortlist to replace Roberto Martinez

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Frank de Boer and Ronald Koeman are the top two in the Everton betting, while Roberto Di Matteo is the new Aston Villa favourite...

"After re-establishing Ajax as the Eredivisie’s dominant force with four straight titles, Frank de Boer stepped aside for PSV, even handing over first place on the final day this term."

Everton are yet to give a clear indication of who they want to replace Roberto Martinez with, but Betfair punters expect the next manager to be Dutch, with both frontrunners in the market hailing from the Netherlands.

Frank de Boer is once again leader of the crowd at 2.89/5, strengthening his credentials by walking away from his position as Ajax coach and publicly declaring his interest in the vacancy at Goodison Park via his brother Ronald.

There are two stains against his candidacy, the first being how, after re-establishing Ajax as the Eredivisie's dominant force with four straight titles, he stepped aside for PSV, even handing over first place on the final day this term, and the second being that he has never worked in England before.

The success of Mauricio Pochettino and Ronald Koeman shows that he certainly shouldn't be dismissed on that basis, yet the Toffees have hired someone new to the country just once in the Premier League era - Walter Smith - and it wasn't the most triumphant experiment.

Second favourite Koeman ticks the box of multi-time Eredivisie champion (he won it twice as Ajax trainer and once with PSV) and has also proven his Premier League prowess, with his Southampton side on course for consecutive top-seven finishes, having last ranked that high in 1989/90.

Why would he trade the south coast for Merseyside? Punters perhaps felt that the budget anticipated to be available following Farhad Moshiri's investment would sway the 53-year-old, especially as he questioned the Saints' transfer policy earlier this campaign.

As a result, the former Feyenoord boss has traded as low as 2.6 for the job, but he has drifted out to 11.010/1 since stating in his press conference that he is likely to stay on for a third season at St Mary's.

Other contenders include outgoing Watford coach Quique Sanchez Flores at 11.521/2, Rafael Benitez at 15.014/1, Manuel Pellegrini at 15.014/1 and Mark Hughes at 17.016/1.

The next Everton manager market might be generating the most excitement at present, yet there is a new favourite to succeed Remi Garde at Aston Villa too, with long-time pacesetter Nigel Pearson drifting to 2.77/4 having once been backed at 1.24.

Like Villa themselves, the new 2.021/1 jolly is one of the more surprising names on the list of past European champions in former Chelsea chief Roberto Di Matteo.

The Swiss-Italian is a divisive figure, with some feeling that he was harshly treated by West Brom and the Blues after impressing initially with both, and others believing that he has only delivered in brief bursts and was found out in his latest assignment when lasting less than a year at Schalke.

What both admirers and critics would have to agree on though is that he has an exemplary record at Football League level, guiding MK Dons to third in League One in both his debut season in a dugout and their first after promotion from the fourth tier. Upon leaving for West Brom, he led the recently relegated Baggies up from the Championship at the first try, finishing second behind Newcastle.

So if Di Matteo is keen on the Villa role, he is definitely deserving of an interview at the very least.

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