Shakhtar Donetsk coach Paulo Fonseca dismisses Everton rumors

Shakhtar Donetsk coach Paulo Fonseca has insisted that there is no truth in the reports that he was considering leaving the club amid reports linking him with Premier League side Everton.

Fonseca, 45, was linked with the Everton job when Ronald Koeman was sacked back in October, but the Toffees ended up hiring Sam Allardyce on a deal that runs until June 2019.

Reports linking Fonseca to Everton resurfaced in the past week after the Portuguese coach said he had received "invitations" to coach at other clubs.

There were also rumors that Shakhtar were preparing to offer Fonseca a new deal worth €9m-a-year (£8m-a-year) to ward off interest from other clubs, but the 45-year-old claimed that the reports were untrue.

"I can confirm that most of the stuff being said in the media about me is not true," he was quoted as saying by the Liverpool Echo. "This €9m offer is certainly one of the main examples. These kind of amounts are not true."

Fonseca led Shakhtar to a league and cup double in the 2016/17 season and was named the Ukrainian league's best coach.

He said last week that he remained committed to bringing more success to Shakhtar.

"There have been invitations [from other clubs], but I have to think about what is best for me and for my career," Fonseca said.

"The championship is going on and I want to decide what is best to continue my career. I'm focused on Shakhtar, I want to finish first and then I'll think about the rest.

"I want to finish first and then I'll think about the rest. I feel valued out there. I like the experience of training out there, one day I hope to return, but not in the near future."

Everton are in the ninth place in the Premier League table, 24 points behind the top four. Sam Allardyce's side were booed off the pitch after they fell to a 3-1 defeat against leaders Manchester City at Goodison Park on March 31.