Everton reach agreement with Watford over Marco Silva

Everton have reportedly come to an agreement with Watford FC over their pursuit of manager Marco Silva, avoiding the need for full independent inquiry.

The Telegraph reports that the Toffees will pay Watford around £4million in compensation to bring the dispute to a close.The deal will head off the need for a full independent QC-led inquiry being launched by the Premier League with the organisation having insisted that it wanted the issue sorted out.

The disagreement stemmed back to last season after the Toffees sacked Ronald Koeman and apparently had made contact with Silva who was just months into his tenure with the Hornets at the time. Watford had then made a formal complaint to the Premier League, and after they sacked him early in 2018, the club went on to claim that his head ‘had been turned by the interest from the Blues.

Watford had initially rejected Everton’s offer of a financial settlement, but it appears now that the two clubs have come to an agreement over the sum of £4m. There was some thought that with the Blues overpaying for Richarlison during the summer would have included some sort of settlement, but it was not so.

Had the legal firm hired by the league to arbitrate the matter found Everton guilty of ‘tapping up’ the Merseyside club could have faced serious sanctions, to the extent of a points deduction but that has been headed off now.