Former Lyon boss Remi Garde is leading the race to be the next Aston Villa boss according to Sky sources, as the hunt for Tim Sherwood's replacement gathered pace on Monday.
Sherwood's eight-month spell at Villa Park ended on Sunday after being in charge for 28 games with a club statement saying "results on the pitch were simply not good enough" and that "a change is imperative".
Sky understands that Garde, out of work after taking a sabbatical when he relinquished his role at Lyon last year, is the clear favourite to become the club's third manager in eight months.
But it is understood one snag is Lyon's current refusal to sanction the departure of coach Gerald Baticle, the man Garde wants as his Villa assistant.
Garde is nevertheless an odds-on favourite for the job, according to Sky Bet, while Real Sociedad's David Moyes, former Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers and ex-Leicester manager Nigel Pearson are also prominent on the list. Former player Dwight Yorke, who has expressed an interest in the job, is quoted at 50/1.
Former Tottenham boss Sherwood met Villa chief executive Tim Fox on Sunday morning and after a short discussion was told he had been relieved of his duties.
This was then relayed to his backroom staff, including assistant manager Ray Wilkins, first-team coach Mark Robson and performance analyst Seamus Brady.
Villa have put Kevin MacDonald in temporary charge, with the man who stepped in when Martin O'Neill left in 2010 taking training on Monday morning and leading the team for Wednesday night's Capital One Cup tie at Southampton. Villa travel to Tottenham five days later in the Premier League.
Villa's owners will be desperate to see their new manager reignite their league campaign after they suffered a sixth successive league defeat on Saturday against Swansea, while Sunderland's victory left Villa bottom on just four points after 10 games.
Pete Colley, Sky Sports News HQ reporter, said: "There have been discussions with Garde who's been a TV pundit since leaving Lyon. We think the talks between him and Villa are quite far down the line."
"They have also been chatting to David Moyes, they've made contact with Brendan Rodgers - all the managers you'd expect that are out there and available. But Garde is the hot contender at the moment."
Some reports have questioned the role of Villa's sporting director Hendrik Almstadt, who worked with Fox at Arsenal, and Coley believes his role may affect the next appointment.
"There's not a question mark over his future," Colley added. "But if you look at West Brom, they had a head coach and a committee to pick players. They opted for Tony Pulis who tore down the structure at West Brom.
"If Moyes and Rodgers came to Villa they would not want a committee to choose players. That rules out 'old school' managers like Moyes and Rodgers and it points towards the modern European head coach which is why I'd put Remi Garde as the head contender."
Alan McInally, who played for Aston Villa from 1987-89, believes Moyes, currently managing in La Liga with Real Sociedad, would be the perfect choice to turn fortunes around.
"I think David Moyes is a terrific manager," the Sky Sports football pundit said about the former Manchester United boss on Sky Sports News HQ.
"I don't know if anyone could have done the job right [at United] after Sir Alex Ferguson. I think he would be a fantastic choice if they could prise him away."