Everton’s potential new owners have met out of work German manager Edin Terzic in an Italian hotel this week, according to reports in Italy.
An exclusive story by Romanews.eu says the Friedkins, who have spent time in London in recent days, travelled to the Hotel Posta Vecchia in Ladispoli to meet Terzic and discuss the vacant Roma manager job.
The site says the hotel was closed for the meeting, which was staged in the ‘utmost’ secrecy as the Friedkin’s hope to find a replacement after the sacking of Ivan Juric, the club’s second manager of the season.
It says: “At around 11:20 in fact, a meeting took place between Dan and Ryan Friedkin and Edin Terzic , former coach of Borussia Dortmund who is currently a free agent. Obviously, the ongoing discussions with the German coach do not exclude the fact that the American ownership could be looking at other profiles.”
Despite the secret meeting, Dan and Ryan Friedkin have not settled on the former Dortmund man. They were previously in London where they were rumoured to have spoken to Graham Potter about the Roma role, while favourite for the job remains former Manchester City and Italy manager Roberto Mancini.
However, with Everton manager Sean Dyche’s contract set to end in summer 2025 and pressure over poor team lineup choices and overly negative football, his position could be in danger when the Friedkin Group takeover of Everton completes.
It could mean managers such as Terzic may be revisited by the Friedkin Group in their search for a replacement for Dyche and having already seemingly interviewed Potter and now Terzic, it could offer options for a future Everton appointment.
Terzic has a good reputation in the game and experience in England having previously worked as a coach at West Ham under Slaven Bilic. He led Dortmund to a Champions League final and narrowly missed out on a Bundesliga title on the final day of the season. He resigned last year and is yet to find a club job.
Known for playing a 433 formation using a traditional target man, it could be a good match for Everton whose strikers fit the mould he used at Dortmund. Tactically flexible, he has also used three at the back formations and a diamond midfield in the past. Favouring a possession-based game, he likes to push fullbacks up the pitch to create overloads and stretch opposition teams, something Everton fans have enjoyed in the past with the likes of Seamus Coleman and Leighton Baines.
The news of the hotel meeting follows a turbulent time for Roma, who won a Europa League trophy under Jose Mourinho but replaced him with fan favourite Danielle De Rossi last year. Despite maintaining the support of the fans, De Rossi was sacked after just four games of the season due to poor form, sparking a backlash from fans and protests against the Friedkin Group.
The issues have been exacerbated by the departure of unpopular CEO Lina Souloukou, who resigned in the wake of the De Rossi sacking. There are also rumours Director of Football Florent Ghisolfi, who is temporary CEO, is also under pressure following the disastrous appointment of Juric and some questionable summer transfers.