Sky Sports reports that Port Vale are talking to Shefki Kuqi over becoming their new manager. The League One club have been without a boss since Rob Page elected to take on the vacancy at newly promoted Northampton Town.
39-year-old Kuqi, who played for clubs such as Blackburn Rovers, Sheffield Wednesday, Ipswich Town and Crystal Palace, is currently managing in his native Finland at top flight side PK-35 Vantaa.
Jose Morais, who is a close friend of Jose Mourinho and worked with him at Chelsea, Read Madrid and Inter Milan, was the long time favourite for the role at Vale Park. Significant betting support came for Kuqi yesterday and he has since nudged himself ahead of Morais as the odds on favourite.
Kuqi made himself something of a cult hero figure during his time in English football, which saw him play for several clubs, including a spell in Scottish football with Hibs as well, which is where he ended his playing career.
Last season he guided his current club to promotion into the Finnish top flight league after previously cutting his management teeth at FC Honka, also a club based in Finland.
It would appear it is highly likely he will make the move back to England, this time in his first managerial role. It is certainly a surprising move in the sense that it has come out of the blue, but he has been a success in the dugout so far, albeit in a completely different country. He at least knows what the Football League is all about, and spent time in League One playing for Oldham Athletic in the 2011/12 season.
