Kovac denies he's in running for Everton job despite attending Chelsea game

Niko Kovac has distanced himself from links with the Everton job despite the former Bayern Munich manager being in attendance at Goodison Park for the Toffees' meeting with Chelsea.

The Croatian was sacked by Bayern back in November following a humiliating 5-1 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt, with Hansi Flick having stepped in as interim boss until the end of the 2019-20 campaign.

Kovac took over from the legendary Jupp Heynckes in the summer 2018 and guided the Bavarians to a league and cup double in his first season at the club.

But an indifferent start to 2019-20 saw Bayern eventually pull the trigger, with CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigg explaining at the time: "The performance of our team in recent weeks and the results have shown us that there was need for action."

The 48-year-old is now likely to see his name linked with managerial positions in the Premier League and, having attended Everton's Premier League fixture with Chelsea, there was speculation he could be in the frame to replace Marco Silva.

But Kovac told Goal that he is merely in England to attend a host of fixtures over the weekend and that he is taking a break from management for the time being.

As well as taking in the match at Goodison Park, Kovac is planning to watch the Manchester derby later on Saturday, while he is also due to attend West Brom's Championship meeting with Swansea and Aston Villa's clash with Leicester City.

The former Bayern manager is also set to be at the London Stadium for West Ham's clash with Arsenal on Monday which is likely to again set tongues wagging given the managerial vacancy in north London after Unai Emery's sacking.

As revealed by Goal, David Moyes is in the frame to take over at Everton, with the Scot expecting to undergo talks with the club following their decision to relieve Silva of his duties.

Other names being considered include former Toffees favourite Mikel Arteta, Monaco's Leonardo Jardim and Ajax boss Erik ten Hag, while Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe is another likely to be in the mix.

And caretaker boss Duncan Ferguson certainly did his chances of a permanent role no harm as he helped guide his side to a 3-1 win over Chelsea in his first game since stepping in to replace Silva.