Moyes finalising Everton return on multi-year deal

David Moyes is meeting with Everton officials on Friday to agree a deal to return to the club.

Moyes, who left West Ham at the end of last season, is set to sign a contract running at least two years.

The 61-year-old – manager of Everton between 2002 and 2013 before joining Manchester United – will replace Sean Dyche, who was sacked on Thursday.

It is understood Everton’s owner, the Friedkin Group – who only completed their takeover of the club last month – hope to announce the appointment before this weekend.

Dyche paid the price for Everton’s run of just one win from their last 11 games, leaving them a point above the Premier League relegation zone in 16th place.

His sacking was confirmed just over three hours before Everton’s FA Cup third-round tie against Peterborough with Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman placed in interim charge. Baines revealed pre-match that Dyche had selected the starting XI for the Toffees who won 2-0 at Goodison Park to reach the next round.

Speaking to Sky Sports News in December, Moyes said: “I don’t want to be taking jobs where I have to scrap all the time and be round the bottom of the league.

“Most of the time I was at Everton, we were competing for European positions. The last four years at West Ham, three of them have been in Europe.

“I like to think I can do a job at a level rather than just avoiding relegation. I will wait on the right opportunity and if it doesn’t come, I’ll be happy where I am at the moment.”

Moyes famously coined the ‘People’s Club’ phrase to describe the Blues during his first press conference as Everton manager after replacing Walter Smith in 2002.

During his 11 years in charge, the 61-year-old Scot guided them to the qualifying rounds of the Champions League in 2005 and the FA Cup final in 2009.

Moyes was also named the League Managers Association (LMA) manager of the year on three occasions during his time at Everton before he left in 2013 to replace Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.

During his second stint as West Ham manager – following six months in charge in the 2017/18 season – he masterminded Conference League success in 2022/23, defeating Fiorentina in the final to win the club’s first-ever piece of European silverware and their first major trophy for 43 years.

Dyche took charge at Everton in January 2023, having had a near 10-year stint as Burnley boss between October 2012 and April 2022.

The Toffees survived relegation at the end of the 2022-23 season by just two points, securing a final-day victory over the Bournemouth.

The 53-year-old then kept Everton in the top flight last season, despite the team having eight points deducted from their total because of two separate breaches of the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR).

Members of Dyche’s backroom team Ian Woan, Steve Stone, Mark Howard and Billy Mercer have also left the club.

The Toffees sit 16th in the Premier League and did not register a shot on target during Saturday’s 1-0 loss at Bournemouth – their eighth league defeat of the season, and they have failed to score in eight of their last 10 games.

Would fans welcome back Moyes?

Everton fan Peter McPartland from Toffee TV told Sky Sports:

“David Moyes is a little bit different because obviously he was at Everton before and he’s still got that great affection for the club. Him working in the Premier League up until the end of last season proves that he’s still a good manager.

“It would have to come with caveats and those caveats would be that it’s a short-term deal that would only last for 18 months.

“Everton fans are ready now for someone who is going to build the football club.

“That’s why I think a lot of fans are disappointed it never went any further with Graham Potter. We are ready for that next stop. We can’t keep appointing managers to keep us up and then getting rid of them when that stops working.

“I do feel like that is the kind of manager Everton want but if the Friedkins brought Moyes in, it’s the same as bringing Claudio Ranieri back to Roma.

“It’s a warm blanket to keep everyone cosy for the next few months to hopefully get us away from the relegation zone but it will be difficult to convince some fans, I must say.”

‘Everton couldn’t leave prospect of relegation to chance’

Sky Sports News’ Alan Myers:

“So after days of assessing the direction of the club and the future of manager Sean Dyche, Everton’s new owners ‘The Friedkin Group’ came to the decision that a parting of the ways was in the best interests of the club.

“It’s not a decision the Americans wanted to take at this time, their plan was to let Dyche see out the remainder of his contract, which was due to end in June, and then embark on a detailed review of the club from the top down.

“There was a recognition of Dyche’s work over the two years he’d been in charge, at times traumatic, at times uncertain both on and off the pitch, indeed it’s fair to say he had to deal with a situation which no other Everton manager has ever had to deal with. A relegation battle in his first five months, PSR points deductions, severe financial restrictions and a complete change of Board and so much more.

“However, despite all that, results this season have not been good enough, performances this season have not been good enough and the stats suggest something needed to change, that is what ultimately convinced TFG that they had to act.

“The prospect of relegation in their first six months and beginning life in their brand-new stadium in the Championship next season was too much to leave to chance. Of course, that remains a concern and their choice of replacement for Dyche has to be a balance between the need to look to the future but also the necessity to secure the short-term safety of their Premier League status.

“Now attention will turn to who’s next. There are a number of candidates and I understand the new owners would prefer to bring in somebody who is not currently in a position at another club, for two reasons.

Firstly, they need to make an appointment quickly and do not want a drawn out negotiation with another club, and secondly, probably more importantly, they would see any compensation that would need to be paid as wasted money, which needs to be directed towards player acquisitions.

“There has been lots of talk about Jose Mourinho, but this is highly unlikely, and it’s understood there has been no contact with TFG’s former manager at Roma.

“More likely a target is former Everton boss David Moyes, currently available following his departure from West Ham Utd and someone who the Friedkin Group are interested in. Clearly, he has a long association with the club and would hit the ground running at a place he knows well without too much description in transition.

“Moyes knows the club better than most, spending 11 years there. Importantly, from that time, Seamus Coleman remains at the club and if Moyes was to return that relationship could prove crucial.

“Moyes recently said he did not want to go to a club that was in a relegation battle, however Everton is different, there is a bond and I would think it would be very difficult for him to turn down an offer. Should it come.

“Paulo Fonseca is also a name that has been mentioned, he was manager at Roma when the Friedkins took over the Serie A club. He also has a history with wanting the Everton job, he was a serious candidate before Marco Silva got the job and also a contender before Roberto Martinez was employed when Bill Kenwright owned the club.

“However, whoever comes in there is always a risk factor when changing a manager with a club in the position as Everton. The owners will understand this from their dealings at Roma, and they will have learned that the minimal risk is the safest way to go, as shown with Claudio Ranieri’s return to the club.

“Whoever does get the job will have a big challenge on their hands, make no mistake Everton are in a relegation battle but there are many games left and things could look a lot better quickly if the right man is brought in.”