David Moyes's Everton contract runs until 2027 (Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
International breaks are good times for top-flight clubs to do some serious housekeeping.
They are good times to sit down with a manager to reflect on results and discuss plans.
They are good times to talk about managers’ contracts.
Pep Guardiola likes to sign a new deal during an international break, although that is extremely unlikely to happen in this current one.
There will, though, be a fair amount of executive discussion throughout the Premier League regarding clubs’ managerial situations.
Two Premier League managers have contracts that run until 2032 - Chelsea’s Liam Rosenior and Brentford’s Keith Andrews - but five clubs have managers whose current deal expires at the end of the season and EIGHT have managers who will be out of contract at the end of next season.
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That last figure could actually be nine as most people seem to think Eddie Howe’s Newcastle agreement ends in the summer of 2027 but that has never been confirmed by the club or the man himself.
Whether it is eight or nine ending in 15 months’ time, there should be a lot of negotiation taking place fairly soon, if not during this break.
Of those whose deals only run until the end of next season, who is likely to extend first?
Leaving Howe aside, here is the list.
Vitor Pereira, Scott Parker, Fabian Hurzeler, Daniel Farke, Mikel Arteta, Guardiola, David Moyes, Arne Slot.
My guess is that it won't be the latter. And I’m sure Parker and Guardiola are not looking too far ahead.
It could well be that all those clubs wait until the summer before deciding whether to offer new deals. That will surely be the case with Slot.
But if there is one on that list who should already be guaranteed an extended contract, it is Moyes.
Having this Everton team in contention for a European place - and actually within striking distance of a Champions League spot - has to be put into the context of recruitment that has been mixed, to say the least.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has proven himself to be a class act but the bottom line is that Tyler Dibling and Thierno Barry have a long way to go if they are to prove to be anything other than very expensive mistakes.
Enough has not been seen of Adam Aznou and Carlos Alcaraz but it is clear Moyes is unconvinced about the long-term potential of Dibling and Barry.
For a combined £60million-plus, Dibling and Barry would have been expected to add serious attacking threat to the team.
That has not been the case and Moyes has had to adapt, like only Moyes can. In recent times, no Premier League manager is more adept at chiselling out points while scoring so relatively few goals.
Everton (37) have scored three fewer goals than Spurs, and they have 16 more points than Spurs.
It is a Moyes speciality. In fact, the first time Everton finished above Liverpool in the Premier League era was in the 2004/05 season when the Blues finished fourth under Moyes, amassing a grand total of 45 goals and ending the campaign with a negative goal difference.
The emphatic win over Chelsea took Everton into positive goal difference territory but Moyes is producing wins with what he clearly sees as limited attacking options.
Turning 63 next month, he might be the Premier League's oldest manager but, having covered his managerial career since he became - at that point - the youngest in the Premier League when he joined Everton 24 years ago, there is no drop in his enthusiasm and energy.
Moyes says there is no rush to sort out a new deal and, to be brutally honest, despite the fine job he is doing, there is little risk of him being courted by one of the powerhouses.
But there is a buoyancy about the club right now - and confirming a couple more years of Moyes at the helm would keep it bobbing along nicely.