Southampton demand £5m compensation from Everton for losing Ronald Koeman

Southampton are reportedly demanding around £5m ($7.1m) from Everton to appoint Ronald Koeman as their new manager. The highly-rated Dutchman is set to swap St Mary's Stadium for Goodison Park in the coming days, but the Toffees have been told they must pay a healthy compensation fee to the Saints.

Everton are currently trying to finalise a deal for the former Barcelona star after sacking Roberto Martinez in May. Koeman, 53, had a year left to run on his annual £3.5m contract, according to The Telegraph.

Southampton are conscious of Everton's recent investment from Farhad Moshiri and are seeking to be compensated for their loss. The club had, in fact, expected Koeman to extend his deal with Southampton until Everton made their interest known.

Koeman is reportedly keen to take his brother, Erwin, and fitness coach Jan Kluitenberg to Goodison Park. The former Ajax boss is said to have been offered around £7m by Everton, with a promise of £100m to spend in the transfer market.

Meanwhile, Koeman's agent Rob Jansen recently confirmed the manager is patiently waiting for the Everton move to be approved. "First, the clubs must have agreed – then we get back into action," he explained. "Let's just quietly wait."

The Everton-bound boss has previously been touted as a possible replacement for Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, while he was also heavily linked with a move to Barcelona during his time in charge of Ajax.