Dick Advocaat was travelling to Sunderland on Monday evening to discuss replacing Gus Poyet as the club's manager, Press Association reported.
The well-travelled Dutchman, who has had two stints in charge of his national side and spent four years at Rangers, has been identified as the man to lead a late charge against relegation following Poyet's dismissal, according to PA.
The Black Cats are moving quickly in their pursuit of the 67-year-old, with Saturday's trip to West Ham one of only nine games left to lift them away from the Premier League drop zone.
Advocaat has won league titles in three countries during his lengthy coaching career, claiming the Eredivisie with PSV Eindhoven, the Russian Super League with Zenit St Petersburg and two SPL trophies during his spell at Ibrox. But the nature of the challenge that awaits at the Stadium of Light is of a different order entirely.
Poyet left the club a single point above the bottom three and reeling from a calamitous 4-0 home defeat by shot-shy Aston Villa. That result, and images of thousands of Sunderland fans pouring out of the ground in disgust, hastened what had already become an expected departure for Poyet. He was in post for 17 months, winning just 23 games from 75 at the helm.
The Uruguayan was permitted to take training for one last time at the Academy of Light before being summoned for a meeting that confirmed his fate.
Sunderland have reportedly given some thought to an internal appointment with three-time caretaker manager Kevin Ball and development coach Paul Bracewell already on the payroll.
But with QPR's fortunes hardly having been improved by Chris Ramsay's temporary promotion, the mood appears to have shifted quickly to an experienced campaigner in Advocaat.
He would be presented with a similar problem to the one that greeted Poyet's predecessor Di Canio when he arrived two years ago. The controversial Italian had even less time to secure top-flight status, but collected eight points from seven games to do the job.
Sunderland had four more points then than their current haul of 26, but the survival threshold is likely to be low this term.
Di Canio blasted Sunderland chairman Ellis Short over the decision on Monday night, saying: "It's not Poyet's fault, because chairman Ellis Short is the real origin of all these troubles.
"I saved Sunderland when the club was sinking; along with my staff, I completed a true miracle, on and off the pitch. We tried to change the philosophy of the team: in the two previous years, no fines were given, despite players getting drunk and partying until late, even a few days before a match.
"I was giving fines even for [players being] five minutes late. It's fundamental, to keep order in the dressing room. I took all the responsibilities, but my project was immediately cut off.
"It was a choice which came from above. When I was the manager, two directors chose 16 players. None of them are still at the club: neither the players, nor those directors.
"I don't want to blame Poyet, but if you're afraid to fine one of your players, then you have to expect some troubles. This team is just looking for three worse teams to leave behind."