Everton's search for a new manager continues, with Brighton & Hove Albion manager Graham Potter among the list of names linked to succeed Carlo Ancelotti.
The former Ostersund manager's reputation has been growing following impressive spells in Sweden, followed by a managerial spell at Swansea and currently, as the manager of Premier League outfit Brighton.
Former Wolves boss Santo had been the heavy favourite with the bookies after the ECHO revealed last week talks between him and the Blues had taken place.
But reports claimed that he was close to becoming the new manager of Crystal Palace, but that was followed by speculation talks have since broken down.
Santo is priced at 6/4 with Grosvenor to succeed Ancelotti, while Christophe Galtier is the joint second-favourite priced at 4/1, along with Brighton boss Graham Potter .
So how could the 2021/22 season play out with Potter in charge of the Toffees?
We simulated next season with Potter as Everton manager to try and find out, and this is what happened.
We appointed Graham Potter as the new Everton manager
To set up this simulation, we used the Football Manager 2021 editor to arrange for Graham Potter to become Everton manager on July 2, 2021 and then used Football Manager 2021 to run our simulation.
Football Manager (FM) is the world’s leading football management simulation title. The latest edition of the game, FM21, is out now on PC, Mac, Mobile, Touch and Xbox.
Potter's Football Manager 2021 is a bit different to some of the other manager's we've looked at previously, with the 46-year-old's preferred formation being 5-2-2-1, with a vertical tiki-taka playing style.
The Football Manager database currently contains data on more than 800,000 individuals and 45,000 active clubs.
Data is sourced from their international on the ground scouting network which numbers roughly 1,000 people, among their ranks are some who are involved in football in professional capacities, including scouts and coaches.
Before we go into the simulated season, Potter signed a number of new players, including a few from his previous club Brighton.
In came Max Aarons, Lewis Dunk, Adam Webster, Kristoffer Olsson, Ben Knight and Pascal Gross.
Out went Bernard, Andre Gomes, Jonjo Kenny, Mo Besic and Seamus Coleman.
With the signings secured, here's what happened with Potter in charge of Everton next season.
Unlike in some of our previous simulations, most notably Rafa Benitez, Potter had a sensational start as the new Toffees boss.
Potter's Everton won their first three Premier League games in a row without conceding.
Overall, the Toffees won six of their first nine Premier League games, with their only defeats coming against Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United.
Despite Dominic Calvert-Lewin coming off the back of a great season in 2020/21, Potter preferred the added mobility of Richarlison up front, with Alex Iwobi and James Rodriguez in behind the Brazilian.
And Potter's decision was somewhat justified, with Richarlison scoring 16 Premier League goals in 37 appearances.
However, Calvert-Lewin did manage to score seven goals in just seven league starts and a further 15 substitute appearances.
The other top scorers included Alex Iwobi, Gross and Moise Kean.
So, what kind of team were Potter's Everton? Let's take a look at some stats to find out.
The Toffees were a brilliant attacking outfit under Potter, scoring 57 goals in 38 league games, with only Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United and Man City scoring more.
And they weren't too bad at the back either, conceding 47 goals in 38 games.
To put these stats into context, under Ancelotti in 2020/21, Everton scored 47 goals and conceded 48 in 38 games.
So Potter managed to improve Everton's attacking output whilst also keeping some defensive solidity.
At the end of every season, FM21 work out the best 11 of every team, based on a number of key metrics.
This is how Everton's best performing XI, as decided by Football Manager 2021, looked at the end of the 2021/22 season.
Full Everton best XI: Pickford; Aarons, Keane, Godfrey, Dunk, Digne; Allan, Gross; Rodriguez, Iwobi; Richarlison.
Everton's best XI featured two former Brighton stars, with Lewis Dunk and Pascal Gross both having strong campaigns.
Max Aarons was the other major signing to make an impact, holding down the right wing-back position.
So, how did Everton perform in the Premier League under Potter?
This is how the final 2021/22 Premier League table looked at the end of our simulation.
Everton had a superb campaign under Potter, securing a sixth-place league finish and a return to the Europa League.
The Toffees earned 62 points from 38 games in the Premier League, finishing above Arsenal in the league table, but they were still 16 points off the top four.
In the cup competitions, Potter's side reached the Carabao Cup semi-final but were beaten by Man City.
Overall this simulation suggests that Graham Potter could actually be a suitable candidate to become Everton's new manager, with the Brighton boss able to improve the side's attacking instincts and therefore improve their league position.
As always, this is just a bit of fun, but it's interesting to see what kind of impact FM21 suggests Potter could have at Goodison Park next season.
Would you be happy to see Graham Potter become Everton manager?
