Everton agree Allardyce deal

Sam Allardyce

Sam Allardyce has agreed a deal with Everton to become their new manager.

Sammy Lee will join as assistant manager, while former Leicester boss Craig Shakespeare - who was Allardyce's right-hand man during the ill-fated four-month spell with England - will also join the backroom team.

David Unsworth - who has been in charge on an interim basis - will return to his previous under-23 role, while Duncan Ferguson is also expected to have a place in the coaching set-up.

Allardyce was due to arrive in England on Wednesday morning, having been on holiday in Dubai, with a formal announcement expected later in the afternoon ahead of Everton's game against West Ham - where Allardyce will be in attendance at Goodison Park.

Everton had reopened discussions with the 63-year-old about succeeding Ronald Koeman, after original dialogue broke down some two weeks ago, with talks progressing well on Tuesday.

An agreement could not be reached at the time but, after Everton failed with an attempt for Watford boss Marco Silva, progress was made over the key aspect of the length of a contract for Allardyce earlier this week.

It is also understood that Shakhtar Donetsk manager Paulo Fonseca was also interviewed for the role, while Republic of Ireland's Martin O'Neill was also being considered, but Everton owner Farhad Moshiri was expected to make a firm decision on Tuesday.

Everton would be Allardyce's seventh Premier League club after leaving his role as boss of Crystal Palace in the summer. He has been the preferred choice of director of football Steve Walsh.

Palace chairman Steve Parish agreed to his departure and it is believed the south London club would receive a compensation package of around £2m if Allardyce takes a new job before next summer.