Former Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has agreed to take over as the new Everton manager in a two-and-a-half-year deal, according to media reports.

Lampard is understood to have had a final interview in London on Friday, at which owner Farhad Moshiri, chairman Bill Kenwright and other boards members were convinced the 43-year-old was the right man for the job.

The Merseyside club, however, was yet to make a formal announcement.

Other contenders to replace Rafael Benitez were Vitor Pereira and current caretaker boss Duncan Ferguson, but Lampard was set to be confirmed in the role Monday.

It will be the first job for the 106-cap England international since he was dismissed by Chelsea this time last year after 18 months at the helm.

Prior to his tenure in west London, Lampard had spent a season in charge of Derby and guided them to the Sky Bet Championship play-off final in 2019.

He will take over a side that is 16th in the Premier League and has lost 10 of its last 13 matches, with Benitez sacked on Jan. 16.

Pereira, the former Porto manager, was previously thought to have been the favorite to replace the Spaniard but a bizarre TV interview earlier in the week appeared to have damaged his hopes while some fans also protested against the Portuguese.

Current Derby boss Wayne Rooney was another option but he revealed on Friday he turned down the chance to interview for the position, while caretaker Ferguson missed out on being given the reins on a permanent basis.

Lampard could have a busy first day in the job with the January transfer window set to close at 11 pm on Monday and Everton expected to bring in further reinforcements.

Full backs Vitalii Mykolenko and Nathan Patterson joined at the beginning of the month, while out-of-favor Manchester United midfielder Donny Van De Beek has been linked with a move to the Toffees in recent days and others may follow.