Cardiff City are closing in on a deal to make Sabri Lamouchi their new manager with Bluebirds fans favourite Sol Bamba as his assistant, WalesOnline has learned.
Cardiff have been without a permanent boss since Mark Hudson was relieved of his duties almost two weeks ago following a 1-1 draw with fellow strugglers Wigan Athletic.
The club have had a large number of applicants, however they whittled down a short list of candidates, with Lamouchi, Valerien Ismael and another unnamed manager being actively spoken to.
Former Aston Villa boss Dean Smith is another who has been heavily linked with the role.
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Cardiff's hierarchy this week set to work on sounding out former Nottingham Forest manager Lamouchi and proceedings have escalated quickly over the last few days.
And in a big boost to City fans, it is thought club legend Bamba would be named as his assistant if a deal gets over the line. Lamouchi worked with Bamba while in charge of the Ivory Coast national team between 2012 and 2014.
Bamba has transitioned into coaching after his last stint as a player with Middlesbrough last season. It is understood Lamouchi and Bamba have been courted for jobs in Turkey and France recently.
Former France international Lamouchi, 51, most recently managed Al-Duhail in Qatar, but will be better known on these shores for his time in the dugout with Nottingham Forest in the 2019/20 season.
In Lamouchi's only full season in charge of Forest, he had the club in the play-off places all season before a dramatic final day of the campaign saw Cardiff and Swansea City leapfrog them, knocking them out of the top six. He was relieved of his duties in October 2021.
He also worked in the French top flight with Rennes, steering them to fifth in Ligue 1, before taking over at the City Ground.
Cardiff are currently 21st in the Championship and hope that appointing a new manager and getting new players in before the transfer window ends will represent the start of the Bluebirds' push away from the relegation zone.
It is understood signings will be made before Tuesday, which is when they face their next opponents, Luton Town. Cardiff want to add at least two players to bolster their options at the top end of the pitch. Left-back is also a position which has been discussed.
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