• Manager takes over from Sam Allardyce at Goodison Park • Silva was a target for Everton last autumn when at Watford

Everton have appointed Marco Silva as their manager with the 40-year-old’s commitment to “attractive, attacking football” convincing the club he is the right man to replace Sam Allardyce.

Silva signed a three-year contract with the Goodison Park club on Thursday having been the first choice of Farhad Moshiri, Everton’s major shareholder, to succeed Allardyce since his sacking just over a fortnight ago.

Moshiri had wanted the Portuguese to succeed Ronald Koeman in October but Watford rejected Everton’s advances and potential compensation of more than £10m. Watford then sacked Silva in January, blaming an “unwarranted approach” from another club for a loss of focus and downturn in results.

Frank Lampard appointed as Derby’s manager on three-year contract Read more

The former Estoril, Sporting Lisbon, Olympiakos, Hull and Watford manager is Moshiri’s third permanent appointment in just over two years. He has spent around £30m in payoffs to managers and compensation to clubs during that period.

Silva is joined at Everton by the assistant manager João Pedro, the goalkeeping coach Hugo Olivera, the technical scout Antonis Lemonakis and the fitness coach Pedro Conceição. Duncan Ferguson will remain part of the coaching team.

“Everton is a really ambitious club and that is what I want,” Silva said. “What we are seeing now are good changes at the club. The club is changing its approach. But one thing we cannot change and nobody wants to change is the huge history and ambition of the club.

“Everybody knows Everton’s history. When you are a club like Everton, you only have one solution - to aim to win. In football it is impossible to win every match but we must do everything to show in every game that we have ambition. That is what I want and I’m sure we will show that every single week.”

Forty-year-old Silva, who has won 13 Premier League matches during brief spells with Watford and Hull, will work closely with Everton’s new director of football, Marcel Brands, who met the new manager before his appointment being finalised.

Brands, marking a departure with the Allardyce era, said Silva’s style of play fitted in with Everton’s long-term footballing plans. “Marco is a young coach but also an experienced coach and he’s worked already at the top, while also gaining experience of the Premier League which is also an important factor,” he said.

“One of the most important things is that he’s a guy who wants to play attractive, attacking football and also wants to work in the structure we have at Everton. He’s a guy who has proved already he wants to work with young players, make them better and he has performed very well with the teams he’s worked with. He will be a very good manager for Everton.

The Fiver: sign up and get our daily football email.

“His vision in football, the way he is thinking about football is what we want. He wants to structure a team and he has proved that already with a few clubs with good results, so I believe strongly in him. He is an open guy who wants to work together with good staff and in an environment at Finch Farm which is conducive to building something strong.”

Everton were among the biggest spending clubs in Europe last year but the return on their investment was abysmal with Koeman, the caretaker manager David Unsworth and finally Allardyce all struggling with a squad in need of further surgery.

Silva added: “We have a lot of work to do in this next month and it is important to prepare everything in the right way. But there will be even more important work to do from the start of pre-season into the first Premier League match of next season.

“I know what our fans expect – they expect results but not only results. I want our fans to be proud when they see our team on the pitch. I want them to feel we are committed, that we are working hard and enjoying our football because that is important as well. We want to build a great connection between the squad and the fans, and I’m sure that with our attitude and demands of commitment our style of play will see that.”