Bielsa rips into Everton squad and lists transfer demands to become manager with Allardyce lined up as backup

MARCELO BIELSA has reportedly ripped into Everton’s “slow” squad as he laid out his transfer demands to replace Frank Lampard.

Lamps was axed at around 2.30pm on Monday — but it took Everton almost SIX HOURS to confirm his exit.

Marcelo Bielsa fears the Everton squad is ‘too slow’ to play his footballGetty

GettySam Allardyce has reportedly held talks over a return to Goodison Park[/caption]

Bielsa, caught up in a spygate row with Lampard four years ago, could ironically now replace him.

As we reported last night, the veteran 67-year-old is a front runner and has held talks about the job.

Bielsa, axed by Leeds 11 months ago after ending the club’s 16-year exile from the Prem, is open to the idea of a return to England.

However, the Daily Mail has claimed that he has told the club’s board that that squad “is too slow to play the way he wants” and that if they want him to take over then “they must prioritise pace before the transfer window closes” this month.

They go on to add that “if guarantees are not given over a plan to address his concerns, sources say there is a chance Bielsa will walk away from talks” with the Toffees.

And the same publication is now claiming that could see Everton turn to a familiar fire fighter to try and save them from relegation.

The Mail claims that “key figures within the Everton hierarchy remain admirers of their previous manager Sam Allardyce” and add that he “has held initial talks” over the job.

Big Sam, 68, replaced Ronald Koeman in the Goodison dug-out back in 2017/18 with the Blues deep in a relegation fight.

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He spent just six months there but he guided them away from danger and to an eighth place finish.

Allardyce then ended up at West Brom midway through the 2020/21 campaign and was tasked with a similar job, but he was unable to stop the Baggies from sliding into the Championship.

Former Athletic Bilbao boss Marcelino is reportedly on Everton’s shortlist too.

Former Burnley boss Sean Dyche, Everton legend Wayne Rooney and former chief David Moyes, currently at West Ham, are also in the running.

Defeat at West Ham on Saturday, Lampard’s final match in charge, left the Toffees joint-bottom of the Premier League table – although they’re two points away from safety.