Crystal Palace have refused to comment on reports that they are in advanced negotiations with former Chelsea defender Dan Petrescu to become the club's new manager.
Petrescu has been increasingly linked with the Selhurst Park job after previous reported candidates including Aitor Karanka and Rene Meulensteen confirmed appointments elsewhere.
And the 45-year-old would appear to be the new focus of Palace attention after co-chairman Steve Parish confirmed on Thursday he hoped to have a new boss installed by the weekend.
Parish had told Sky Sports: "We're getting closer. It's quite fluid at the moment. It's gone on a lot longer than we thought."
The 45-year-old Petrescu also played for Sheffield Wednesday, Bradford and Southampton and won 95 caps for Romania before starting his managerial career in 2003.
He led unfashionable Unirea Urziceni into the UEFA Champions League after winning the Romanian Liga 1 title in 2009, and inspired a 4-1 win over Rangers in Glasgow.
After moving to Russia later that year he lifted Kuban Krasnodar into the Russian Premier League before moving on to Dynamo Moscow, with whom he signed a three-year contract in 2012.
Source: PA
