Sam Allardyce the favourite for Everton post after Farhad Moshiri talks

Sam Allardyce is seen as the leading candidate to fill the vacant managerial post at Everton after meeting with the club's majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri in London over the weekend as the Toffees' managerial search continues.

Allardyce stated publicly that he would be interested in speaking with the Merseysiders if they saw him as the right man to lead them out of the mire in which they find themselves, and The Telegraph report that the former England manager is very much under consideration, along with a host of other candidates.

Everton interim boss David Unsworth oversaw a much-needed win against Watford on Sunday (4 November) but is unlikely to succeed Ronald Koeman permanently after losing the three matches prior to the victory over the Hornets.

Unsworth, who has made no secret of his desire to become permanent Toffees boss, insisted he would back whoever arrived as Everton's new manager as they bid to turn their season around. Allardyce's track record of saving and consolidating clubs, combined with his strong relationship with Everton's director of football Steve Walsh, gives him a strong position in the running, while Burnley boss Sean Dyche and Watford manager Marco Silva are also being examined.

Wolverhampton Wanderers boss Nuno Espirito Santo was also on Everton's radar but the former Porto boss swiftly decided against leaving Molineux. Santo has led Wolves, backed heavily by Fosun International and influenced greatly by Jorge Mendes, to the top of the Championship after 16 matches, and Wolves legend Steve Bull says the Portuguese did the right thing by rejecting Everton's advances as he believes he can help the Midlands outfit establish themselves as a force in the Premier League in the coming years.

"At first glance Everton might appear a rather attractive proposition – they are, after all, an established Premier League club with a decent budget," Bull told The Express and Star.

"But I genuinely feel, when you weigh everything up, there is a potentially even more attractive proposition here at Wolves."Fosun have made no secret of their desire to make the club one of the biggest and best in the land and Nuno wants to be part of that.

"Granted, it's still very early days. But his first five months at the helm have gone better than anyone could have dreamed and he has seen glimpses of what this club can be."