David Moyes is reportedly in talks to return to Everton as manager after the sacking of Sean Dyche.
Moyes, who managed the Toffees for 11 years between 2002 and 2013, has been named as the frontrunner for the role by the BBC.
Negotiations 0ver a contract are set to continue on Friday, with Everton keen to quickly appoint a new boss after dismissing Dyche on Thursday, just hours before their FA Cup third round tie against Peterborough.
Interims Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman oversaw a 2-0 victory on Thursday, with Beto and Iliman N’Diaye on target against the League One side at Goodison Park.
Everton currently sit 16th in the Premier League, only a point above the relegation zone, after winning only three of their 19 games this term.
Moyes, who left West Ham after five years at the helm last May, has previously said he was keen to return to management but did not want to be in a job “fighting relegation”.
After being appointed an OBE in the New Year Honours list for services to football, he said: “Football is in my blood. It has been since I was a boy.
“I love watching football and I have enjoyed my career. If there is another part to it, so be it. But I would only want it to be a good part.
“I wouldn’t want to be coming in and doing something which is very difficult.
“I don’t want to be at the bottom of the league and fighting relegation which I have had a few times, so we will see how things go.”
The 61-year-old oversaw a successful period of Everton’s history between 2002 and 2013, before he was chosen to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.
He was sacked just 10 months into the role before managing Sunderland and then two spells at West Ham, where he won the Europa Conference League.
