Jurgen Klinsmann and US Soccer have both denied a report Wednesday that linked the national team coach to the manager position at Everton.
The denials came in response to a social media post by ESPN announcer Ian Darke, who tweeted: "Persistent Merseyside rumours that USA coach Jurgen Klinsmann could be next Everton manager."
The post was later deleted. Klinsmann responded via Twitter to deny there was any truth to the matter that he was in line to replace current Everton manager Roberto Martinez.
Rumours are wrong! Not going anywhere and Everton FC has a fantastic Manager in Roberto Martinez!
- Jürgen Klinsmann (@J_Klinsmann) April 13, 2016
ESPN FC writer Jeff Carlisle reached out to US Soccer, whose spokesperson said there had been no contact between Everton and the federation.
Martinez, whose team played to a 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Wednesday, has endured a challenging season at Goodison Park. His club are currently in 12th place in the table in a season where expectations were high at the outset.
The Spaniard has put a good face on proceedings and recently said he'll give his life for the club, while playing down stories that he was under increasing pressure from fans and ownership.
Klinsmann is no stranger to job pressure himself. A string of results starting with the U.S. team finishing fourth in last summer's Gold Cup, losing a Confederations Cup play-in match versus Mexico in October 2015, and culminating in a 2-0 defeat to Guatemala in World Cup qualifying on March 26 in Guatemala City.
That string of results left some, including Landon Donovan, calling for Klinsmann to be fired if they didn't win the next match vs. Guatemala on March 29. The Americans did win the home leg in Columbus, Ohio, 4-0, to ease the pressure on Klinsmann and put the team back on track to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.