Official: Everton sack Marco Silva. Vítor Pereira to step in?

Portuguese boss Marco Silva has been dismissed as coach of Premier League side Everton after 18 months in charge at Goodison Park. The former Sporting man leaves with The Toffees currently 18th in the table after a 5-2 defeat to Merseyside rivals Liverpool last night.

Overall Silva led Everton in 53 Premier League matches, winning 19, drawing 11 and losing 23 of his games at the helm. Everton were Silva’s third job in English football, having spent brief spells with Hull City and Watford before heading to the North West.

Everton ended last season in promising fashion with one defeat from their final eight games and six clean sheets during the run. However, the departure of influential midfielder Idrissa Gueye to Paris Saint-German, coupled with injuries to André Gomes and summer recruit Fabian Delph has made the midfield a testing problem for Silva.

Silva, who is still just 42, has won three trophies during his managerial career. As well as winning the Segunda Liga with Estoril in 2012, the Lisbon native also won the Taça de Portugal with Sporting in 2015 and the Greek title with Olympiacos the following year.

Speculation over Silva's replacement began before the change was made, with Jorge Jesus among those linked with the Everton job in recent days. However, according to Sky Sports, former Porto boss Vítor Pereira is to be named successor to his compatriot. Pereira has just finished the Chinese CSL season in charge of Shanghai SIPG, who ended the campaign in 3rd place.

By Sean Gillen

@SeanGillen9