Sam Allardyce Lands Great Managerial Deal After Controversial England Dismiss

Everton have finally ended their wait for a new manager, with the appointment of Sam Allardyce.

The Toffees have announced the appointment of the former England boss, more than six weeks after the dismissal of Ronald Koeman.

Allardyce, 63, has put pen-to-paper on an 18-month deal, worth £9million, meaning he will earn more than the likes of Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone, Juventus manager Max Allegri, PSG chief Unai Emery and even Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane.

The Blues' principal shareholder Farhad Moshiri and director of football Steve Walsh were involved in intense negotiations with the former England manager’s representatives in London on Tuesday.

He's set to be formally unveiled at Goodison Park ahead of tonight's game against fellow strugglers West Ham, before taking charge against Huddersfield at the weekend

Moshiri first held talks with survival specialist Allardyce — who has joined Sunderland and Crystal Palace mid-season in the last two campaigns and kept both up — three weeks ago.

Those negotiations broke down because the Blues wanted to offer a contract only until the end of the season as they looked for a younger more glamorous option in the long term.

Big Sam walked away from any deal, suggesting the Blues simply "didn’t want him enough”.

However, the club re-opened talks with the former England boss after Sunday's humiliating 4-1 defeat to Southampton, which leaves them staring relegation in the face, with Moshiri backing a man he has hailed as "a strong leader".

"I really want to give him the support he needs," said the Toffees owner. "He can go as far as he wants.

"We need a strong leader, he gives us that.

Allardyce has elected to bring in former Liverpool assistant Sammy Lee, with whom he also worked at Bolton, Palace and England.

Ex-Leicester boss Craig Shakespeare, goalkeeping coach Martyn Margetson and fitness coach Ryland Morgan are also set to join.

Moshiri had initially been determined to find a high-profile young manager when he sacked Koeman almost six weeks ago, but that search was significantly adapted as a series of humiliating defeats has brought the Merseyside club to crisis point.

In the end, the owner saw his choice as a stark, simple one: Find a manager who can stop the rot and steer clear of the drop.

Allardyce fits that bill to perfection after performing the near-impossible feat at Crystal Palace last season, and the year before that with Sunderland.

The Everton owner had also spoken to Republic of Ireland manager Martin O’Neill, and Paulo Fonseca of Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk.

#Mirror