Aston Villa are considering a move to appoint Lucien Favre as their next manager.

What's the talk?

That's according to a report by The Telegraph, who claim that the former Borussia Dortmund coach is one of a number of targets that Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens have identified in Villa's search to replace Dean Smith in the Villa Park dugout.

The report goes on to mention the fact that the 64-year-old manager was also linked with the vacant Crystal Palace job this summer, although it is believed Favre turned this position down.

Dream appointment

While Favre was sacked from his position at Dortmund following a run of poor results in December of last year, the manager's track record of improving struggling sides would nevertheless suggest that the Swiss coach could be something of a dream appointment for NSWE.

Indeed, after taking over a Borussia Monchengladbach side who were seven points adrift of safety back in February 2011, the 64-year-old picked up a rather remarkable 20 points over his 12 games in charge during the regular season of his debut campaign, before guiding the club to safety via the relegation play-offs.

The following season, the man who Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen dubbed "one of the best coaches" he has played under led Monchengladbach to a widely unexpected fourth-place finish in the German top flight, sealing a Champions League qualifying spot in the process.

The 64-year-old enjoyed three more full seasons with Die Fohlen, with the highlight undoubtedly being a third-place finish in 2014/15.

Favre then moved on to OGC Nice, where, once again, he led his team to a third-place finish in the league, before securing a move back to Germany and Borussia Dortmund ahead of the 2018/19 campaign.

With Dortmund, the Swiss boss secured two second-place Bundesliga finishes, as well as twice reaching the last 16 of the Champions League and winning the German Super Cup.

As such, considering Aston Villa's rather precarious 16th place position in the Premier League standings, Favre's track record would certainly appear to suggest he could be just the man to get the club heading in the right direction once again, and perhaps even challenging for Europe before too long. That would undoubtedly be a dream for NSWE and co.

In other news: AVFC plot move for "modern" 3x title-winning manager, NSWE could take a huge risk