Rumours have surfaced suggesting that Italian manager Roberto Donadoni is set to replace Roy Hodgson as manager of Liverpool.
Despite receiving public backing from Liverpool's new owners, defeat to Everton in the Merseyside derby last weekend has resulted in rumours that Hodgson could well be sacked if results do not improve quickly.
Unknown English sources have told Calciomercato.com that Roy Hodgson will be sacked soon and that contact has already been made between Liverpool's new owners and Donadoni's Israelian agent Oved Kraus.
Donadoni has been out of work since October 2009 when he was sacked as manager of Napoli following a 2-1 loss to rivals Roma.
A second string Liverpool side battled to a 0-0 draw with Napoli on Thursday in the Europe League and the two sides recent meeting will certainly help rumours surrounding Donadoni's possible interest in the Liverpool job to spread.
The former Italian international winger has also had a stint in charge the Italian national side. Donadoni was announced as the successor to Marcelo Lippi, who resigned immediately after Italy won the 2006 World Cup.
Despite a slow start, he led Italy through a successful qualifying campaign for Euro 2008. At the tournement itself, Italy recovered from a faltering start in their first two group games and beat France 2-0 to secure a quarter-final tie with Spain.
Italy held the eventual champions Spain to a 0-0 draw but lost 4-2 in the resulting penalty shoot-out. Only reaching the quarter-final stage was viewed as a failure by the Italian Football Federation and Donadoni's contract was terminated in June 2008.
Since leaving Turkish club Galatasary Dutch manager Frank Rijkaard has also been rumoured as a possible replacement for Hodgson, should Liverpool's new owners go back on their word and sack their manager.
However, Calciomercato.com say Donadoni's history as an international player and his ability to speak the English language well could push him to the head of the queue to replace Hodgson.
It is expected that more developments on this situation will be revealed after Liverpool's game with Blackburn Rovers this Sunday - as Donadoni has also been heavily linked with the Parma job following pressure on their manager Pasquale Marino.
Amid all the uncertainty, Roy Hodgson will know that the best way to quash such rumours about his future will be on the pitch on Sunday with a victory against Sam Allardyce's physical Blackburn team.
