Vitor Pereira in profile - Meet the new favourite to take over as Everton boss

Everton continue to search for Rafa Benitez's replacement and Vitor Pereira has emerged as the new favourite.

The Portuguese manager was among the leading candidates back in the winter of 2019 when Marco Silva was sacked.

At that point he was working in China and Carlo Ancelotti eventually got the job.

Now Pereira was back in Europe with Turkish side Fenerbahce until his dismissal last month.

His coaching career began in the early 2000s but his major roles have seen him in charge at Porto and Olympiacos.

It was in his homeland that Pereira did his best work, winning two league titles with Porto having served as Andre Villas-Boas' assistant before taking the top job.

His second league success saw him complete the season unbeaten in 2012/13. All in all he has won nine trophies during his managerial career.

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Pereira has been praised for the defensive work of his teams, often strengthening backlines but without hampering their attacking quality.

The 51-year-old reportedly interview for the Everton role was back in 2013 when the club sought a replacement for David Moyes.

He impressed but his inability to speak English was a drawback and ultimately counted against him.

Pereira has helped develop the likes of Joao Moutinho, James Rodriguez, Radamel Falcao, Nicolas Otamendi and Hulk during his time at Porto.

In his most recent role in Istanbul the Portuguese coach worked with Mesut Ozil.

The former Arsenal star moved in the summer and spoke glowingly about the way Pereira conveyed his instructions and dealt with the players.

"He can communicate very well with the team. He already knows the Fenerbahçe community and Turkish football very well. That's why we're so glad he came.

"In training it is clear how he wants to play. For example, he wants the team to attack. We want that, because we are Fenerbahçe. We want to win against every team. The teacher also advocates this.

"He helps the players a lot, speaks to the players. He also said that his door is always open when something happens. We are very positive. I hope we can do that. This is very important for the player.

"Some days you can have trouble; the player who plays, the player who doesn't. He takes care of every player."

Back in 2019 when he was earmarked for the Toffees hot seat he also drew praise from Jose Fonte, formerly of Southampton.

Despite his age Pereira is seen as a very modern day coach with pressing also key to his philosophy.

"He did a fantastic job in Portugal and he has done a fantastic job in China," he said on talkSPORT at the time.

"He is one of the new generation of mangers; very methodical. The players like him, he puts on good training sessions and has a good understanding of the game.

"I'm not surprised he's being mentioned."