Former Everton midfielder Leon Osman has urged the club against appointing Sam Allardyce as their new manager.

The Toffees have been searching for a new boss since sacking Ronald Koeman last month, with caretaker David Unsworth overseeing the club's last four games across all competitions.

Allardyce was reported to have held initial talks with the club over the vacant post, although he has since denied any contact from the Merseyside outfit, who are now understood to have made Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone their number one target.

"I'm not sure it's panic time just yet regards to getting in Sam Allardyce but I'm not the guy in charge," Osman told BBC Radio 5 live.

"Sam Allardyce is a guy who you bring in to shore up the gaps and make sure teams don't go down. He's developed that type of reputation.

"Whether he's the guy who can take your team into the top six, which only three or four months ago Everton were trying to do, will remain to be seen."

Everton's 3-2 win over Watford on Sunday was just their third of the season in the Premier League, while they have also already been eliminated from the Europa League.