David Moyes was on the brink of signing a new three-year contract at West Ham United on Thursday night, ending any prospect of him returning to Everton.
Telegraph Sport has been told the club expects Moyes to put pen to paper on a deal on Friday, two-and-a-half weeks after he led them to their second-best Premier League finish of sixth and qualification for Europe.
Moyes had been linked with a return to Everton, who he managed for 11 years, after Real Madrid reappointed Carlo Ancelotti as manager.
But he has agreed instead to extend a contract that had 12 months remaining in what is his second spell in charge.
First-team coach Stuart Pearce revealed on Wednesday that Moyes had agreed in principle to stay on, telling talkSPORT: “For all intents and purposes he has agreed and the club have agreed to extend his contract as such.”
Moyes also confirmed just before the end of the season he was close to finalising a deal, one that would trigger a recruitment process West Ham hope will strengthen the team further following their unexpected success.
“I am not asking for time,” Moyes said. “I don’t think any manager can ever ask for time. But I think if you’re ever going to give a manager time, it would be now, where somebody has come in and saved the club twice, had one year and got ourselves in a position where we are going to challenge for Europe.
“If you are ever going to trust and say, ‘Let’s go to the next level’, now you have got to give that trust over. You have got to give the manager the ability to try to take the club on to reach what you see as the next level.”
That could include allowing him to make Jesse Lingard’s loan move from Manchester United a permanent one.
“I couldn’t say any more than I’m hopeful Jesse might want to come here,” Moyes said last month. “That’s up to Manchester United, but he’s been a positive signing.”