Roberto Martinez is being linked with a sensational return to Everton, following the sacking of Rafael Benitez.
After just over six months in charge, Benitez was sacked as the Blues boss on Sunday following their 2-1 defeat to Norwich City, their 10th in 19 Premier League games, which leaves them in 16th place in the table.
Following the Spaniard's departure, Everton are being linked with a number of high-profile managers, including Wayne Rooney, Lucien Favre, Duncan Ferguson and Graham Potter.
But their former manager Martinez is also in the frame to replace Benitez, despite not managing a club outfit since being sacked by the Blues back in May 2016.
Martinez is currently the Belgium national team manager, having been in that role since August 2016.
He has led the Red Devils to first place in the FIFA World Rankings, also reaching two European Championship quarter-finals and finishing third at the 2018 World Cup.
So, what would happen if Martinez was re-appointed as Everton manager?
Would he improve the side, or would history repeat itself?
We 'appointed' Roberto Martinez as Everton's new manager
To find out how Martinez could perform, we arranged for the Spaniard to join Everton as manager after 19 Premier League games on Football Manager 2022, with realistic results, and simulated the remainder of the 2021/22 season.
This is what the Spaniard's in-game profile looks like on Football Manager 2022.
The 48-year-old has a preferred formation of 5-2-3, with a tactical style of Control Possession. Despite being poor in terms of defensive coaching, the former Wigan Athletic boss excels in attacking, mental, tactical, technical and working with youngsters.
Let's take a look at how Everton performed after 19 games, following the arrival of Martinez.
After his appointment, the Blues won only one of their next eight Premier League games.
But as the season progressed into April, Everton started to get results, winning five of their last seven matches.
Overall, Martinez's record from 19 games onwards was won six, drew seven and lost six, winning a total of 25 points. To put that into context, Benitez won 19 points from 19 games, winning five, drawing four and losing 10.
Martinez's record was clearly better, but certainly not a huge improvement.
At the end of the 2021/22 season, the Blues finished in 14th place, just above Newcastle United and Brighton.
So, how would Martinez get on in his first full season on his return to the club, following the summer transfer window?
The 2022/23 Premier League campaign got off to an uninspiring start due to the club's ongoing financial situation, with Martinez only able to bring in two players for a total of £1.2 million, with Pontus Jansson arriving from Brentford and Sead Kolasinac from Arsenal on a free transfer.
But despite this, Martinez worked wonders at Everton in this campaign, leading them to an impressive fifth-place finish in the Premier League, finishing above Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Leicester City, winning a total of 63 points.
His Blues side won 19 more points than in the previous campaign, losing three fewer games, drawing five fewer and winning five more.
Here's how Martinez's best-performing XI looked in 2022/23 according to Football Manager 2022: Pickford; Patterson, Godfrey, Holgate, Mina, Mykolenko; Allan, Doucoure; Iwobi, Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison.
Due to the lack of transfer activity, it's a familiar-looking XI but with a very different formation and tactical style, but Martinez got the best out of his players in 2022/23.
Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison were in great form, with the former scoring 19 goals in 37 appearances and the latter scoring 14 and assisting seven in 40 appearances.
So there you have it, Football Manager 2022 predicts that if Martinez returns to Goodison Park halfway through this season, Everton's form could improve, but only slightly.
However, in the following campaign, Martinez may be able to implement his tactical style much more effectively and could lead the club to an impressive league finish, despite a real lack of signings.
Would you want to see Roberto Martinez back at Everton? Let us know in the comments.
