- Sam Allardyce has been invited for talks by Everton as they look for a new boss
- He recently rejected their advances after it became clear he was not No 1 choice
- But Sportsmail understands the club have made a fresh approach to Allardyce
- Sources close to the former England manager are now convinced he will say yes
Everton have invited Sam Allardyce for further talks in a bid to secure him as their new manager.
Allardyce rejected Everton’s advances earlier this month after it became clear to the former England boss that, despite telling him he was wanted, Watford’s Marco Silva was their No 1 choice.
But the Everton hierarchy now appear to have conceded defeat in their pursuit of Silva and Sportsmail understands a further approach was made to Allardyce and his advisers over the weekend.
Everton have invited Sam Allardyce for further talks in a bid to secure him as their new boss
He recently rejected the club’s advances after it became clear Marco Silva was the No 1 choice
It will not be lost on Allardyce that it is a move that smacks of desperation, prompted by Sunday’s 4-1 defeat at Southampton in what was the club’s fifth defeat in the seven games they have contested since the departure of Ronald Koeman last month.
And if Everton are now going to persuade the 63-year-old to take the reins from caretaker manager David Unsworth, they will have to convince him that they are united in wanting him to take charge of their team.
It certainly seemed that key figures at Goodison were divided on Allardyce, although majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri was believed to be a fan based on his success in keeping Crystal Palace in the Premier League last season.
The agent of Paulo Fonseca, the 44-year-old Portuguese coach of Shakhtar Donetsk, and Martin O’Neill have also been spoken to by Everton with a decision expected on Tuesday. But Allardyce remains the favourite.
Everton’s majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri (above) was believed to be a fan of Allardyce
Less than two weeks ago he moved to publicly distance himself from the vacancy at Everton. ‘It never materialised as I thought it would, unfortunately.
‘For me, such a long time without a decision, I had to make a decision myself. The decision was it was probably better it wasn’t me, and I’d move on to something else.
‘It would have been a fabulous job, but it just didn’t feel right. I think when you’re sat in my position you want people to be decisive and feel like they want you.
‘I didn’t get that feeling overall. They were hesitating that I was the man.’
It certainly puts Allardyce in a strong negotiating position if the Merseysiders have now decided he is at the top of their list of targets. Even then, however, sources close to Allardyce are now convinced he will say yes.