Saudi Pro League manager says he was ‘very close’ to becoming Everton’s boss before Frank Lampard

Add as preferred source on Google

Everton find themselves in a tricky position following their opening three games of the new campaign.

Sean Dyche‘s side looked set to seal their first win in their third and latest Premier League match but were left embarrassed.

Having now lost all three of their opening games in the Premier League, some questions may well be beginning to be asked of the current Everton boss.

The longer this run of dismal form goes on for the more likely talk will begin to grow over the 53-year-old’s future on Merseyside.

And there is now one manager who has spoken out about how close he came to inking a contract at Goodison Park before Dyche’s time at the club.

• READ MORE: Everton should return for the perfect Sean Dyche replacement who they’ve already tried to sign

Saudi Pro League manager admits he nearly joined Everton

Prior to Dyche’s arrival came Frank Lampard who took over in the dugout in January 2022 before only lasting a year.

And it seems as if there was another man under serious contention for the job before Farhad Moshiri went with the former Chelsea man.

He has now described just how close he came to getting the job on Merseyside after numerous meetings with the club.

• READ MORE: John Textor’s chances of completing his Everton takeover rated

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Al-Shabab’s current manager Vitor Pereira has revealed he even spent the week in England to see through a deal with Everton.

“I was very, very close to signing for Everton. I was ready to start working there,” he said.

“I travelled over and stayed for one week. I had four meetings with the club, but in the end it was not to be.”

Vitor Pereira still wants Premier League opportunity

Despite having been rejected for Lampard back in 2022, Pereira is not giving up on his dream of managing in the Premier League.

“I was so close to being a Premier League manager on three different occasions. Small things stopped it from happening each time, but in the future I believe I will be there,” he added.

And perhaps the opportunity on Merseyside could well present itself once again with Dyche failing in the early stages of the new campaign.

If Everton are to change manager again, it would be interesting to see whether they could potentially wait for a new owner so they could have their say on the matter.