Marcelo Bielsa has landed in England to hold talks with Everton over their vacant manager’s job.
The former Leeds boss, who Sportsmail revealed as the the club’s first-choice, has arrived in London from Brazil ahead of formal discussions with the Toffees.
There is an acknowledgement from Everton that they face an uphill battle to get a deal for Bielsa over the line, namely his reservations over whether the current squad can adapt to his high-energy style.
However, the very fact Bielsa has flown to the capital to meet Everton has sparked optimism that a deal may not be out of reach.
It is now up to Everton to persuade Bielsa to replace Frank Lampard, who lost his job on Monday.
The Toffees have explored back-up options if they fail to convince Bielsa, who earned upwards of £11million a year at Elland Road, to take the job.
His lack of managerial experience may work against Ancelotti but such an appointment would excite supporters.
Sean Dyche is also emerging as strong candidate behind Bielsa. The former Burnley manager is open to joining and talks behind the scenes have taken place in recent days.
There had been a reluctance to appoint Dyche at the start of the week, but he is emerging now as a viable option to Bielsa.
Should Bielsa reach an agreement with Everton, it would be his first role back in the dugout since he left Elland Road last February.
During his four-year stay at the Yorkshire club, Bielsa guided Leeds back to the Premier League and then to a ninth-placed finish in their first year back in the top-flight.
Things went downhill in his final season, though, and he left after losing five of his last six matches at the helm and with Leeds in danger of being relegated. They managed to stay up on the final day of last season under Jesse Marsch.
If he is to take charge at Goodison Park, he will face another relegation scrap, withe the Merseyside outfit currently sat in 19th place in the Premier League table, two points from safety.
As well as sacking their manager on Monday, Everton have had a number of issues to deal with in the past few days that demonstrate the difficult situation the club finds itself in.
Owner Farhad Moshiri was forced to deny reports on Tuesday that the club had been put up for sale, though the club have held talks with US investment firm MSP Capital over coming on board as investors.
The club also lost out on one of their top January transfer targets, as Arnaut Danjuma signed on loan for Tottenham despite completing a medical with the Toffees. Issues on the personnel side have been further complicated by the refusal of forward Anthony Gordon to attend training.
The 21-year-old has been absent for three consecutive days at Finch Farm, with the club admitting the past two days of leave have been unauthorised. Gordon has been heavily linked with a move to Newcastle.
Moshiri and the Everton board have been the subject of protests from supporters in recent weeks. Executives were advised to stay away from their recent defeat by Southampton by police, due to credible threats against their safety, while Gordon and defender Yerry Mina have been among players confronted by fans angry over the club’s dire form.
