In what has to be one of the fastest moving stories I can recall, a man that no one had on Aston Villa's shortlist until late last night, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, could be poised to become the next manager at Aston Villa. Just around lunchtime, the staff of 7500 to Holte was discussing the merits of messing around with the whereabouts of Villa owner Randy Lerner's private jet. It turns out, thanks to one of Norway's major online news sites, Dagbladet, that Lerner actually is in Kristiansund and has plans to speak with the current Molde manager and former Manchester United star about the Villa job.

To add to the speculation we have a mysterious report that was originally published by the Guardian and then taken back down only to be promised to be reposted at some point tonight. I was personally skeptical because this is the weekend during which most Norwegians are celebrating their independence. It's a massive holiday for the country. Not to mention Solskjær's current club, Molde, has a match this coming up this Sunday for which they must prepare.

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A new name has emerged in the Aston Villa managerial rumor mill; former Manchester United winger and current Molde FK manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær. The 39-year-old Solskjær is of course best known for his 11 seasons and 235 appearances for the Red Devils, but his brief managerial career has been an impressive one; three successful seasons coaching the United reserves (during which time he was offered the Norway national team job) and one season at Molde, during which he led the club to its first-ever Tippeligaen title. That's not exactly an extensive track record, but it as least one of success.

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As Aaron noted earlier, some front-runners have started to emerge as possible candidates to the Aston Villa manager's job. This post is meant to describe (and in some cases, defame) potential heirs to the throne, tarnished though it has been over the last season. It contains two parts, first listing managers currently employed by a Premier League club and then some legacy candidates who have managed in the Premier League. The very nature of these things means that it's incomplete, but there is, as always an open invitation to make your very own rash speculations in the comments.

Poachable in the Premiership:

Paul Lambert: On the first day of the League One season in 2009, an unremarkable Colchester United team laid a 7-1 beatdown on the freshly relegated Norwich City at Carrow Road. The man in the Colchester dugout was Paul Lambert, and by the next weekend, the Canaries had plucked him away from their local rivals. That was the start of an incredible run of back-to-back promotions, as Norwich would win League One that year and finish second in the Championship the next. Upon arrival in the Premier League, Lambert made a series of decidedly non-notable additions, such as Steve Morison (Millwall) and Anthony Pilkington (Huddersfield Town.) They finished 12th in the Premier League, level on points with the two teams above them, and over ten points north of the relegation zone. Understandably, their front office is not at all receptive to the suggestion that the man that they inducted into the club's hall of fame two months ago might be plying his trade elsewhere next season. Lambert himself was evasive when asked about the prospect of moving to Aston Villa after beating them on Sunday, and many observers (including at least one writer for this site) seem to think he could be swayed. Personally, I've long admired Lambert with a vigor that borders on lust, but I think actually hiring him would require a significant financial commitment from Lerner, with the implicit understanding that Aston Villa are "a project." Would the promise of Paul Lambert be enough to soothe the itchy trigger finger in the boardroom (and just as importantly, the Holte End?)

Brendan Rodgers: Unlike Lambert, Rodgers is the heir to a system at Swansea City. The Bob Paisley to Roberto Martinez's Bill Shankly, Rodgers has been able to surpass the achievements of his predecessors by becoming the first manager to take a Welsh club into the Premier League. Swansea's elegant style was one of the highlights of the past season, and Rodgers was able to integrate a number of intelligent purchases into a pre-existing system with little trouble. Like Lambert, Rodgers is a young manager with a long and successful career ahead of him. However, Rodgers may have already passed Villa by, as he has already been linked to Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea (where he worked under Jose Mourinho.) Honestly, I think Rodgers is too attached to Swansea to even give Villa a second thought. There's not really anything here for him.

Roberto Martinez: The Wigan magician has been the subject of adulation around these parts since Gerard Houllier took his leave, if not even earlier. However, can we really believe that the events of this season will have convinced Spanish Bob that the Aston Villa job is in any way more desirable than it was when he turned it down last summer? All signs point to no, particularly with the gradual crescendo of murmurs linking him to a potential vacancy at Liverpool. And really, if you're going to drink from a poisoned chalice, why not pick the biggest one on offer?

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