#4 Ronald Koeman
Southampton have done reasonably well since their return to the Premier League and Mauricio Pochettino’s departure to Tottenham. A great part of that credit goes to Ronald Koeman coming in and steadying the ship. His transition into the Premier League has been a smooth one and Southampton have managed to reap reasonable rewards on the back of the backing they’ve handed their manager.
Koeman has had to deal with key players departing each season but has not really had too much trouble in replacing them with only a fraction of the money received for them. He’s still kept the team playing attractive football and has kept them in Europe as well. A fair achievement for a man who’s honestly not had too much in terms of resources at his disposal and enough of an achievement to make him a target for ‘bigger’ clubs.
Manager-Club Match Rating – 3.5/5
Going by the ‘safe pair of hands’ understanding, Ronald Koeman offers Everton everything they would need at a time like this. With major players set to leave, Koeman offers Everton a chance at replacing them without taking a step back, like he has done at Southampton.
Ronald Koeman is also one of those managers who seems to have outgrown Southampton’s ambitions even if he says he is comfortable at the club. Everton can match those ambitions from the look of things and that makes him a good match even if he doesn’t seem to possess a fiery side to his persona.
Rumor Rating – 3/5
The interest in his services is genuine. Everton seem to have him on his list of managerial candidates but it is going to be a tough proposition negotiating a compensation package with Southampton, who seem to be ready to fight tooth and nail to keep Koeman.
This one seems like a long shot in relation to the others on the list.
