Aston Villa have been linked with a move for former Borussia Dortmund manager Lucien Favre by Portuguese journalist Alfonso Leocadio.

The Lowdown: Favre profiled

The 64-year-old has been out of work for almost 12 months and was heavily linked with the Crystal Palace job over the summer.

The Swiss manager, who plays a 3-4-2-1 system, has won five trophies during his career and has been described as ‘one of the best’ by Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Favre actually shares the same agency as Villa winger Bertrand Traore and has experience of managing in Switzerland, Germany and France, and it appears as if he is in Villa’s thoughts to possibly replace Dean Smith along with Denmark boss Kasper Hjulmand, who has been linked along with Paulo Fonseca.

The Latest: Leocadio’s claim

Journalist Leocadio took to Twitter following Villa’s 1-0 defeat to Southampton on Friday night, claiming that there is lots of ‘tension’ in the Midlands amid reported doubts over Smith's position.

One fan responded to his tweet, asking if there are any other targets in mind alongside Fonseca, with whom Villa have reportedly made contact. Leocadio simply replied: ‘Lucien Favre’.

The Verdict: Favre or Fonseca?

Should Villa part ways with Smith over the coming weeks, they may well end up looking at two managers who play the same formation.

Both Favre and Fonseca like to use a 3-4-2-1 system, but the latter is 16 years Favre’s junior, which could come into play if Villa are looking to the long-term future.

The 48-year-old has also managed in three different countries and has actually won more trophies than Favre, so it would be interesting to see which manager they’d prefer out of the two if Smith is given his P45.

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