According to reports in The Mirror, Sam Allardyce has told friends that he "needs convincing" to take the vacant Everton manager's job after talks broke down and he ruled himself out of the running previously.

What's the word, then?

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Well, following humiliating 5-1 and 4-1 defeats against Atalanta and Southampton in the last week, it seems as though the Merseyside outfit are ready to step up their search for Ronald Koeman's successor, more than five weeks after the Dutchman was sacked.

The Mirror says that majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri wants former England boss Allardyce to be appointed by Wednesday, and they are ready to give into his demands that they weren't willing to accept earlier this month.

The report adds that the 63-year-old wants a two-and-a-half year deal worth £4m per year to replace caretaker boss David Unsworth, who now appears to be out of the running for getting the role on a permanent basis, while they are also willing to pay Allardyce's former club Crystal Palace £2m in compensation.

Why is Allardyce unsure?

Initially, The Mirror says that Everton were only willing to offer him a contract until the end of the season before potentially targeting a younger manager like Watford's Marco Silva, but understandably he wanted more security than that.

While the Merseyside outfit may still choose to get rid of the 63-year-old at the end of the campaign even if they stay up, they are obviously willing to take the risk and pay the compensation that the former Three Lions boss would be owed due to the extended length of contract he is set to be offered.

Would he be a good appointment?

He certainly would be – in the short-term at least.

While Moshiri wants Everton to be competing at the top of the Premier League table, it is clear to see this season that they must avoid dropping out of it first.

They need someone who will come in and strengthen their leaky backline, and get their more talented attackers firing again and Allardyce has proven time and time again that he can do that, while never suffering relegation in the process.

With Everton getting desperate and running out of options, the 63-year-old also knows that he holds all of the aces.

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