Jack Wilshere is leading the race to secure the Luton Town position after making a strong impression during discussions with the Kenilworth Road board, with an agreement now believed to be imminent.
The Hatters, who suffered relegation from the Championship last season after dropping out of the Premier League a year earlier, severed ties with Matt Bloomfield last week following a disappointing 2-0 loss to local rivals Stevenage.
Luton have acted swiftly in their hunt for a new head coach, conducting discussions with ex-Arsenal star Wilshere, 33, alongside several other potential candidates. However, it's Wilshere who has now established himself as the club's preferred choice, according to BBC Sport.
The former Arsenal midfielder has previously undertaken coaching duties at the Emirates and Norwich City, where he enjoyed a brief two-match spell as caretaker manager.
But the Luton position - should terms be agreed - would mark his first permanent head coach appointment at senior level.
The possibility of Wilshere joining forces with Luton emerges less than two months after reports suggested that Arsenal had approached their former midfielder regarding a potential homecoming to fill the Under-21 manager vacancy.
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Wilshere turned down that chance, however, and has been open about his ambition to secure a senior managerial position following his short tenure at Norwich's helm during the closing stages of the 2024-25 campaign.
In a discussion with The Athletic earlier this year, Wilshere, who served as an Under-18 coach at Arsenal before his October 2024 switch to Carrow Road, declared: "My ambition is to be a head coach.
"I didn't want to take a step until I was ready to impact at this level and it's taken two-and-a-half years. I can still improve and I'm still hungry to get better. But I feel like I'm ready."