Everton: The candidates to replace Rafael Benitez as Toffees boss

The unhappy marriage between Rafael Benitez and Everton has come to an end.

Defeat by Norwich City at Carrow Road on Saturday proved the final straw, his departure coming just seven months into a three-year contract.

Attention will now turn to finding his successor. Action needs to be swift, with Everton only six points above the Premier League relegation zone.

BBC Sport understands former manager Roberto Martinez, now in charge of Belgium, still has his admirers within the club, while assistant boss Duncan Ferguson, Derby manager and former Toffees striker Wayne Rooney and Brighton's Graham Potter also figure highly in the speculation.

«Wayne Rooney will get a mention and it is up to Wayne where he feels he is at if he was offered the job,» ex-Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock told BBC Radio 5 Live.

«It would be very difficult to turn down, from a club and fans point of view. Is he experienced enough? He would get the respect of the fans and the players.

»The choice I look at, and Brighton fans won't want me to say this, is Graham Potter. Everton fans want open and expansive football, and you would get that with him."

We take a closer look at some of the candidates and give you the chance to vote on who you think should be the next manager.

There has been talk for years about Dyche taking a bigger step in his career after Burnley. He has done brilliantly in a decade at Turf Moor, twice gaining promotion to the Premier League and qualifying for Europe.

But he has not hidden his frustration at the lack of funding available to strengthen his squad. This season in particular is becoming increasingly difficult, with just one league win, a fixture pile-up because of Covid-19 and the sale of striker Chris Wood to fellow strugglers