After reaching an agreement on Friday afternoon, Everton moved to appoint former Burnley coach Sean Dyche as the club’s new manager with an official announcement expected later today.
This comes four days after Everton fired former head coach Frank Lampard, whose underwhelming run of results left the Toffees trying to avoid relegation in 19th position on the Premier League table.
According to reports, Marcelo Bielsa, a former head coach at Leeds, was Everton’s top choice to succeed Lampard. Bielsa traveled to London to meet with Everton’s management.
However, a deal could not be made because Bielsa wanted to wait until the summer to take over as manager while Everton sought an immediate agreement.
Additionally, it was reported that Bielsa had doubts about the Everton team’s ability to adjust to his high-energy playing style, lamenting the lack of pace in the group.
Despite reports that the conversations were largely constructive, Everton could not wait until the summer to bring in Bielsa because they needed to leave the relegation zone as soon as possible to stay in the English top division.
Nine months after being fired by Burnley during a 10-year tenure with the club, Dyche, 51, is back in the Premier League.
During his tenure, he twice guided Burnley to promotion, and in 2017–18, he helped them finish in seventh place.
With eight days until their next game against league-leading Arsenal at Goodison Park, Dyche has plenty of time to get his team ready.
The following week, Everton travels to Anfield to face Liverpool.
