Ronald Koeman agrees deal with Everton, says agent

Ronald Koeman has agreed a deal with Everton to become their new manager, his agent has reportedly told Dutch media. The agent Rob Jansen said, according to the popular Voetbal International website, that it was now down to Southampton and Everton to agree a compensation package for the Dutchman, who has a year remaining on his contract at St Mary's.

Manuel Pellegrini, Unai Emery and Frank de Boer were all linked with the Everton job which became vacant when Roberto Martínez was sacked last month.

Jansen is quoted as saying: “We have reached an agreement with Everton. Now it is up to the clubs.”

Koeman, who steered Southampton to a sixth-placed finish in the Premier League last season, hinted after the 4-1 home win against Crystal Palace on the final day of the campaign that he would like to see signs of ambition from the club before he committed to a new contract. He said: “It is important to know what we can do to be stronger because in my opinion that’s ambition. If you don’t have that ambition, you start to be sloppy and that is not what I like to be.”

Everton are rebuilding following the arrival of the club's new major shareholder, Farhad Moshiri. Should Koeman complete a switch he would be reunited at Goodison Park with Arouna Koné and Steven Pienaar, whom he managed at PSV Eindhoven and Ajax respectively.

Koeman has won three Dutch titles as a manager – two at Ajax and one at PSV. He moved to Southampton in 2014 to succeed Mauricio Pochettino. They finished seventh in his first season before going one better in 2015-16.