Former Everton boss Rafa Benitez is on the verge of becoming the new manager of Celta Vigo.
The Athletic have reported that the Spaniard will take the reins in his home country after turning down offers to manage in Saudi Arabia.
Benitez has been eager to get back into management and has been without a job since he was sacked by Everton in January 2022.
Despite a horrific six-and-a-half months that left the Toffees in 15th place, Benitez attracted interest from both West Ham and Leicester City last season.
However, the 63-year-old will return to Spain to lead Celta Vigo after they finished 13th in La Liga.
Benitez will be taking charge of one familiar face in Denis Suarez, who SPORT previously reported was a target for the former Everton manager during his time in the top flight.
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The Toffees were one of a number of Premier League clubs interested in Suarez before he joined Celta for around €16 million.
Are Everton still paying the price for Rafa Benitez’s mistakes?
It has been around 17 months since Rafa Benitez left Goodison Park to plenty of cheer.
While the Toffees have since managed to avoid the drop, they are on to their second permanent manager since his departure, and are clearly still paying for some terrible decisions made by the Spaniard.
Everton had little to smile about prior to Benitez’s arrival. However, all he managed to do during his spell on Merseyside was confirm them as a regular in the relegation battle.
The former Liverpool boss brought in a long list of underwhelming names such as Andros Townsend, Salomon Rondon and Anwar El Ghazi, as well as splashing £17 million on Vitaliy Mykolenko and offloading Lucas Digne to Aston Villa.
Benitez also oversaw heavy defeats to Villa, Watford, Liverpool and others – setting them up for a season of disappointment that had to be saved by an unlikely source in Frank Lampard.