Walsh was instrumental in bringing both Riyad Mahrez and N’Golo Kante to the club and was linked with a move to Arsenal before joining Everton.
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The 51-year-old, who has previously held positions at Bury, Chester and Chelsea, will start work at Everton immediately.
His ability to discover and deliver talented players without breaking the bank made him a key figure at Leicester and it was these attributes which have tempted Farhad Moshiri, Everton’s new major shareholder, to give Walsh a key role in the Merseyside club’s management structure.
Walsh knows Everton well, his brother Mickey was with the club in 1978 after joining from Blackpool.
His current employers Swansea City are now facing a challenge to keep him at the Liberty Stadium with Koeman and Walsh interested in Sigurdsson at their previous clubs of Southampton and Leicester City respectively.
The former Leicester City head of recruitment and assistant to manager Claudio Ranieri has joined the Toffees to oversee their football operations and has begun his campaign with immediate effect.
“It’s great news to welcome Steve to our new era at Everton Football Club”, said Kenwright.
Everton have announced the appointment of Steve Walsh as the club’s new director of football.
“I also did my initial teacher training at Liverpool Hope University many years ago”.
“I am genuinely excited to be here at Everton and very much looking forward to getting down to work”, said Walsh.
“Leicester will be seeking full compensation for the loss of Walsh but just as in the pursuit of Koeman, money is no longer a thorny problem at Everton”.
Walsh has been credited with playing a big part in the signings of Gianfranco Zola, Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and Kante during his illustrious career.
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New boss Ronald Koeman had been linked with a £17m move for the Foxes number one as he looks for a new first choice at Goodison Park following the departure of Tim Howard to the MLS.
