Rafa Benitez will break a 130 year-old tradition should he be confirmed as Everton manager this week.
The Daily Mail says Benitez is on the verge of an extraordinary return to the Premier League by signing a deal with Everton this weekend, making him the first man in modern history to manage at both Liverpool and Everton.
Owner Farhad Moshiri is convinced that Benitez, who is considered among the most-iconic former Liverpool managers having won the Champions League for the club in 2005, is the best coach to take Everton into the Champions League and is ready to ignore the objections of some Evertonians who object to the club appointing such a revered Liverpool manager.
Not since William Edward Barclay in the 1890s, who was part of the original foundation of Everton and then the later breakaway Liverpool club, has anyone crossed the city divide to manage both clubs.
Moshiri and Benitez have met and are both enthused with the idea of turning Everton into a Champions League team. Assuming the last contractual details can be tied up, an announcement will be made next week.
