Marcus Bent believes that Rafael Benitez could be the man to come in and take Everton to the next level.

Everton are now three weeks into their managerial search following Carlo Ancelotti's sudden departure, but don't appear any closer to appointing a replacement.

Nuno Espirito Santo is still the leading candidate, but despite ongoing talks with the Portuguese, the Toffees are still considering others for the job, with Benitez amongst those.

The 61-year-old has been out of work since leaving the Chinese Super League in January due to Covid-19, and has an impressive 49% win rate as a Premier League manager having tasted success in 168 of the 340 games he's taken charge of.

But Benitez becoming the Everton manager would certainly raise eyebrows following his affiliation with Liverpool, winning both the Champions League and FA Cup during six successful seasons at Anfield, but the idea of the Spaniard moving to the blue half of Stanley Park wouldn't put off Toffees owner Farhad Moshiri.

Bent, too, told The Transfer Tavern that he's open to the idea of the ex-Reds manager being chosen to take Everton forward:

"Benitez has been from club to club. He did well at Liverpool, but he's someone that could come in and move the club forward.

"I spoke about Duncan Ferguson, Tim Cahill coming in as an assistant, I think the fans would love it, but Benitez, he's an experienced manager who knows what he's doing."