Everton chief executive Denise Barrett-Baxendale insists Frank Lampard was the “clear choice” to be the club’s new manager after the recruitment process.
Following Rafa Benitez’s sacking after the 2-1 defeat to bottom of the table Norwich City, leaving Everton with just one win from their last 13 matches in the Premier League, several names were linked with the vacancy.
Within a couple of hours after Professor Barrett-Baxendale had delivered the news to 61-year-old Benitez that he had been relieved of his duties, many Blues fans were struggling to digest reports that Roberto Martinez – the man Farhad Moshiri had dismissed just weeks after taking control of the club back in 2016 – was being lined up for a surprise return.