By Wayne Veysey

25th Jun, 2021 | 9:05am

Sources: Benitez to defy fans and friends to accept Everton offer after U-turn

Rafael Benitez is ready to defy allies and a fans backlash to take the Everton job, Football Insider understands.

The Spaniard had been ready to walk away from the deal last weekend after agreeing terms with the Merseysiders.

An Everton source has told Football Insider that Benitez was getting cold feet due to the vehemence of a significant section of supporters against his appointment.

His friends were also telling him to say ‘no’ to the Merseysiders and wait for the Newcastle United job to become available.

But the 61-year-old has been convinced by Everton’s ambition as well as the support of owner Farhad Moshiri and powerbroker Alisher Usmanov.

He has told friends that he can win over the doom mongers and is ready to accept the offer on the table.

That could mean him being appointed the successor to Carlo Ancelotti in the coming days now the dust has settled over the initial opposition to him.

Benitez, who managed the Toffees’ arch rivals Liverpool between 2004 and 2010, was last employed by Chinese outfit Dalian Professional.

He left that post by mutual consent in January and returned to England where has been based ever since.

A familiar face in English football, Benitez spent six months as interim manager of Chelsea in the 2012-13 season.

Three years later he became a cult figure at Newcastle where he remained until his controversial dismissal in 2019.

He has also overseen the likes of Valencia, Inter Milan and Real Madrid during his managerial career.

Everton have been without a manager since Ancelotti’s shock departure to Real on 1 June.

In other news, pundit claims 21-year-old could be an Everton sensation in 2020-21 after key update.