EVERTON have announced David Moyes as their new manager.
The Scot, 61, returns to Goodison Park on a two-and-a-half-year contract more than 11 years after leaving for Manchester United.
Moyes replaces former Toffees boss Sean Dyche, who was brutally sacked just hours before his side’s FA Cup clash with Peterborough on Thursday night.
Everton went on to beat Posh 2-0 to advance to round four under the caretaker charge of club legends Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman.
But Moyes has returned to the Goodison Park dugout on a £12.5million deal until 2027 and will take charge of his first game at home to Aston Villa on Wednesday.
Upon confirmation of his comeback on Saturday morning, he said: “It’s great to be back!
“I enjoyed 11 wonderful and successful years at Everton and didn’t hesitate when I was offered the opportunity to rejoin this great club.
“I’m excited to be working with The Friedkin Group and I am looking forward to helping them rebuild the club.
“Now we need Goodison and all Evertonians to play their part in getting behind the players in this important season so we can move into our fabulous new stadium as a Premier League team.”
Executive Chairman Marc Watts added: “We are pleased that David is joining us at this pivotal time in Everton’s history.
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“With over a decade of experience at the club, he is the right leader to propel us through our final season at Goodison Park and into our new stadium.
“We look forward to working with David to build the foundation of a new era for Everton.”
Moyes previously managed the Toffees between 2002 and 2013.
He won 218 of his 518 games in charge – leading Everton to a top-four finish during the 2004-05 season.
The Toffees achieved eight top-seven finished during Moyes’ 11 full seasons in charge.
They also reached the 2009 FA Cup final, in which they were defeated by Chelsea.
Moyes left Goodison Park to replace Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford.
He lasted just seven months at United before being axed in April 2013.
Moyes subsequently spent a year in Spain with Real Sociedad, before taking Sunderland down to the Championship during the 2016-17 campaign.
The experienced boss resurrected his reputation across two spells at West Ham.
He kept the Hammers up during the 2017-18 campaign, before being replaced by Manuel Pellegrini.
Moyes returned to the London Stadium for a second stint in December 2019, staying for nearly five years.
Arguably his career highlight came during the 2022-23 campaign, when he masterminded the Hammers’ Europa Conference League triumph.
During Moyes’ time in East London, West Ham also reached the Europa League semi-finals.
David Moyes’ managerial career by numbers
1998-2002 – Preston P 234 W 112 D 50 L 62
2002-2013 – Everton P 518 W 218 D 139 L 161
2013-14 – Man Utd P 51 W 27 D 9 L 15
2014-15 – Real Sociedad P 42 W 12 D 12 L 15
2016-17 – Sunderland P 43 W 8 D 7 L 28
2017-18 – West Ham P 31 W 9 D 10 L 12
2019-2024 – West Ham P 231 W 103 D 45 L 83
Moyes left the Hammers at the end of last season when his contract was not renewed.
His replacement Julen Lopetegui was sacked earlier this week, with Graham Potter brought in.
Moyes arrives back at Everton with the Toffees sitting 16th in the Premier League, just one point above the relegation zone.
Dyche won only one of his final 11 games in charge but in December he did achieve creditable draws against Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City.
Following Wednesday’s home clash with Villa, Everton take on Tottenham and Brighton before crunch relegation six-pointers against Leicester and Crystal Palace.