Everton to announce Rafa Benitez as new manager on Thursday
Everton will announce the appointment of Rafa Benitez as Carlo Ancelotti’s successor on Thursday, according to the Telegraph.
The Spaniard has signed a three-year deal to take over as new manager, following Ancelotti’s exit to Real Madrid on June 1.
Daily Mail journalist Dominic King tweeted on Tuesday that the “contracts have been sorted and Rafa Benitez is now the manager”.
However, the club have not announced the deal themselves, and will hold off until Thursday to do so.
D-Day
There has been no reason given as to why there is a delay, but Thursday marks the first day of July, so there could be a contractual reason for not announcing it already.
It will be interesting to see how the club approach his unveiling – will it just be a statement online so as to avoid any fan-related issues, or will it be business as normal? The club have a dilemma on their hands.
Regardless, it will be fascinating to see what Benitez and Farhad Moshiri have to say on Thursday.
It is has been widely reported that Moshiri was the driving force behind the deal to bring the former Liverpool manager to Goodison Park, despite a large swell of Everton fans airing their grievances.
Furthermore, it will be interesting to hear how Benitez reacts when asked about his previous derogatory comments towards the club. Will he apologise or merely play down the veracity of the quotes?
He will surely be preparing a big message to Blues supporters in order to garner some support.
He’s not known as the most charismatic of people, and that may be exactly why Moshiri has brought him in as a cold, calculated tactician.
That’s in contrast to Ancelotti, who was famed for his personable approach.
It’s a changing of the guard at Goodison Park, and time will tell how successful the change of tact will be.
In other Everton news, 29y/o launches stinging attack on Carlo Ancelotti ahead of Blues exit.
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