Former England manager in pole position for vacant Everton post

 Sam Allardyce is the new frontrunner for the vacant Everton post after holding a face-to-face meeting with the club’s majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri, reports The Daily Mail.

David Unsworth has been in temporary charge of Everton's last four matches after the dismissal of Ronald Koeman last month, but the Toffees are keen to appoint a full-time manager during the current international break.

The 44-year-old claimed his first victory in charge of the Merseysiders in a thrilling 3-2 win over Watford on Sunday but will not be given the reigns on a full-time basis.

Burnley manager Sean Dyche has been heavily linked with the vacant post at Goodison Park, but now Allardyce has jumped to the front of the queue after holding talks with the club’s owner.

Allardyce’s representatives have also been in contact with Everton’s director of football, Steve Walsh, to discuss possible backroom staff changes and the personnel he would like to bring to Merseyside if appointed Everton manager.

It is reported that Allardyce, who has been out of work since retiring at the end of last season, wants former Leicester manager Craig Shakespeare to be his assistant manager at Goodison Park.

Allardyce has a formidable reputation in the Premier League and has never been relegated as a manager, which bodes well for an Everton side that are only two points above the bottom three.

The former West Ham, Crystal Palace and England manager will be tasked with plugging Everton’s leaky defence. In fact, only West Ham (23) have conceded more Premier League goals this season than the Toffees (22).