Aston Villa were on Monday increasingly confident of making Unai Emery their new manager after holding advanced talks with the former Arsenal boss.
The Spaniard has been in charge of Villarreal in his homeland, and led them to Europa League glory in 2021, and the Champions League semi-finals last season.
Villa sacked Steven Gerrard last Thursday and targeted Emery after intermediaries had also made contact with Mauricio Pochettino, Thomas Frank and Ruben Amorim.
It is understood Emery, whose contract expires at the end of the season, can be effectively bought out of his contract for less than £5.