Ex Chelsea and West Ham managers in two-horse race for Everton job as Sean Dyche sacked

Former Chelsea and West Ham managers Jose Mourinho and David Moyes have emerged as early frontrunners to replace Sean Dyche at Everton after the Toffees boss was sacked on Thursday afternoon.

Dyche was relieved of his duties following a 1-0 defeat to AFC Bournemouth last weekend and just hours ahead of the Merseyside club's FA Cup fixture against League One outfit Peterborough United. The Toffees then face Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.

Defeat to the Cherries made it five matches without a win for the club, their last victory coming in a 4-0 win over Wolves at the start of December. That is the only top flight fixture Everton have won since mid October.

Everton sack Sean Dyche

A club statement today read: “Everton Football Club can confirm that Sean Dyche has been relieved of his duties as Senior Men’s First Team Manager with immediate effect. Ian Woan, Steve Stone, Mark Howard and Billy Mercer have also left the Club.

“The process to appoint a new manager is under way and an update will be provided in due course. Under-18s Head Coach Leighton Baines and Club Captain Seamus Coleman will take charge of first-team affairs on an interim basis.”

Dyche was appointed Everton manager in January 2023 and has spent two years in the role. The Toffees finished 17th in 2023, narrowly avoiding relegation, and then placed 15th in the 2023/24 campaign.

Everton are now on the lookout for a new manager with two familiar Premier League faces emerging as strong contenders for the role in Mourinho and Moyes. The former Chelsea and Manchester United managers have both been immediately linked with the Goodison Park post.

Lee Carsley, Wayne Rooney and Leighton Baines are three other names touted at this early stage but initial rumours do appear to suggest a two-horse race between Mourinho and Moyes.

Mourinho, who has won three Premier League titles with Chelsea, is currently head coach of Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe. The 61-year-old hasn't worked in the UK since leaving Tottenham Hotspur in 2021.

David Moyes teases Premier League return

Moyes is, of course, a familiar face for Everton. The Scotsman spent 11 years in charge of the Toffees and left as a club legend thanks to the consistency he achieved while at Goodison Park.

The 61-year-old left West Ham last summer following the expiry of his contract having won the Europa Conference League with the side in 2023. Speaking last year as questions over his future at West Ham first began to come, Moyes insisted that he was not thinking of retirement, even after managing well over a thousand matches. He told Sky Sports: "I'm not in a hurry to stop managing, that's for sure. I can grow teams and clubs. I genuinely think there are loads of similarities at West Ham [to Everton]. Things we can do better, what we're trying to do.

"The biggest milestone for me was always reaching 1,000 games as a manager because when you do that you've had a career out of management. It takes a long time to get to there and with what you must go through. If you're in work, it means you must be doing something right to keep yourself in the job. The fire always burns, even when I've been losing because I want to get back and get the result. The defeats are always hard to take and it doesn't get any easier the older you get."

After leaving West Ham, Moyes elaborated further on his plans when speaking to the Rest is Football podcast. He said: “I’m going to take a break, I’m not going to jump into anything. There’s loads and loads of young coaches out there just now and some exciting stuff. Some trends might go away, we’re seeing some things and we’re talking about it. We’re seeing it over here for the Euros as well, so I’m just going to take my time.”