Nottingham Forest have drawn up a four-man list of targets for their next manager, with Ryan Giggs the ambitious name among them.
Mike Phelan, Kenny Jackett and Oscar Garcia, now managing Red Bull Salzburg, have also been discussed as potential candidates to fill the vacancy created after Fawaz Al-Hasawi sacked Philippe Montanier on Saturday.
Owner Al-Hasawi is searching for his eighth permanent manager since taking control of the club in 2012 and has placed academy chief Gary Brazil in temporary charge.
But the Kuwaiti wants to appoint a new manager in a bid to stop Forest suffering a destabilising relegation to League One. They are in 20th place, just three points above the drop zone.
Al-Hasawi had expected to sell the club for £50million to American businessman John Jay Moores but pulled the plug on Friday night after the former San Diego Padres owner attempted to drive the price down.
Montanier was then dismissed after Forest’s 0-0 draw at Birmingham, a result that ended a sequence of five consecutive defeats but extended the winless run to eight in all competitions.