Ryan Lowe is poised to succeed Frank McAvoy as the new manager of Preston North End.
The Championship side sacked head coach McAvoy following their weekend defeat to Blackburn Rovers and hope to have their new man in place by Saturday.
Lowe has built a strong reputation as a coach following successful spells at Bury and now Plymouth Argyle.
PNE want someone who can motivate their players and bring an attacking style to challenge for promotion and have been given permission to talk to Lowe by Plymouth, who released a statement on Tuesday morning.
It read: ‘The club can confirm that we have accepted a request from Preston North End to speak to Ryan Lowe over their vacant managerial role. We will comment no further on this statement for now.’
Lowe’s pending departure was the topic of conversation for Plymouth players as they prepared for training on Tuesday morning.
The 43-year old has led them to fourth in League One and a place in the FA Cup third round.
Talks are under way as Preston look to make a swift appointment. They had drawn up a shortlist of three candidates but Lowe is their prime target.
McAvoy, who replaced Alex Neil earlier in the year, took training on Monday morning before being informed of Preston’s decision with the club 18th in the table.
Lowe, St Johnstone boss Callum Davidson and former Manchester United coach Michael Carrick were quickly installed by bookmakers as the early favourites.