Dyche set to take charge at Everton: reports

LONDON (AFP): Premier League strugglers Everton are set to hire former Burnley manager Sean Dyche to replace the sacked Frank Lampard, according to reports on Friday.

Dyche has emerged as the leading candidate for the Everton job after Marcelo Bielsa reportedly turned down the chance to take charge at Goodison Park.

Bielsa flew into London for talks with the Everton hierarchy on Thursday, but reports suggest the former Leeds boss did not believes the squad left by Lampard was compatible with his demand for a high-tempo style of play.

Dyche, sacked by Burnley last April before the club s relegation from the Premier League, could be appointed within the next 24 hours.

Everton owner Farhad Moshiri is believed to want a new manager in place this weekend, with the team s next match not until February 4 against Premier League leaders Arsenal at Goodison.

If Dyche is appointed, he will arrive to find a club in turmoil amid fan protests against Moshiri, who is making his seventh managerial appointment since buying Everton in 2016.

Languishing second bottom of the Premier League, Everton are battling to avoid playing in the second tier of English football for the first time since 1954.

Lampard was dismissed on Monday after less than a year in charge, with a dismal defeat at relegation rivals West Ham last weekend proving the final straw in his troubled reign.

Dyche over-achieved at Burnley during his 10-year reign, leading the Clarets to promotion from the Championship twice and keeping them in the Premier League for several years.

The 51-year-old also guided Burnley to their first European qualification in 51 years after a seventh place finish in 2017-18.