Everton to ask Robson to take over as manager

THE FORMER England manager Bobby Robson will now almost certainly be invited to take over at Everton.

The 63 year old Barcelona coach is likely to receive an official approach from the Merseyside club in the next seven days.

Everton chairman Peter Johnson is expected to fly to Spain shortly, quite possibly this weekend, in the hope of luring one of European football's most respected elder statesmen to Goodison Park before the start of next season.

Although Robson rejected the chance to succeed Kevin Keegan at Newcastle United earlier in the season, insisting he wished to remain with Barcelona, Johnson believes that the prospect of overseeing the renaissance of a major club fallen on hard times will prove irresistible to a man of limitless ambition.

Then, of course, there is the cash. Johnson's determination to find the right man to move Everton forward into a new era is such that he is willing to make Rob son an offer he may find difficult to refuse.

Everton are believed willing to offer to Robson a basic salary which would, at least, match what he currently earns in Spain - something which would undoubtedly make him British football's highest paid manager.

"We will not make our moves in haste because we know what we want for Everton," said Johnson.

I am so excited about the future of this club. I don't think our current position affects the overall stature of a great club like Everton. We are enshrined as one of the top half dozen in the country," he said.

Johnson's plan is to appoint a younger man as Everton's assistant manager, someone whom Robson will groom to succeed him in three years' time.

The slender thread which binds Rob son to his current post frayed further on Wednesday night when Barcelona were defeated 3-1 by Valladolid, a result which almost guarantees Real Madrid the Spanish League title.

Although, Robson is Johnson's first choice to succeed Joe Royle who resigned last month, he is not the only leading European coach currently under consideration.

Ajax's Louis van Gaal and Juventus's Marcello Lippi have also been discussed at boardroom level in recent weeks.

Since the rather unexpected departure of Royle, Johnson has received thinly veiled job applications from respected figures the world over.

"I have been hugely encouraged by the high level of interest in this position from home and abroad," said Johnson.

Meanwhile, Leicester chairman Martin Smeaton is determined to keep manager Martin O'Neill at Filbert Street following their League Cup triumph over Middlesbrough on Wednesday night and O'Neill's achievement in preserving the club's Premiership status despite being written off.

Smeaton wants O'Neill, who is one of the lowest paid managers in the Premiership, to agree a new long term deal and said: "People will now see how far I am prepared to go to make him stay."

O'Neill is also fiercely ambitious and, if he decided not to pledge his long term future to Leicester would be very much in demand when his current contract expires in the summer of 1998.

He is seeking assurances that Leicester have the same goals as himself and is looking for the financial clout to buy the players needed to take the club on to the next stage of their development.

But Smeaton stressed that he shared O'Neill's ambitions, with the club's flotation this summer providing extra funds to strengthen the squad. "I realise that to go the next step forward we need to spend more on better quality players.

"Hopefully the day will come when Leicester City can sign players of the quality of Juninho, Ravanelli and Zola. It's not a dream. It's what we are working for."