LONDON (AFP) - England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson is reportedly in the sights of Real Madrid after their coach Jose Antonio Camacho resigned after just six games in charge.
Newspapers said Tuesday that although no official contact had been made through formal channels, it was understood intermediaries working for the Spanish club had started sounding the Swede out about taking over.
Camacho's assistant, the former Real goalkeeper Mariano Garcia Remon, has taken over and although Real say he is in charge until the end of the season, he is seen as a stopgap appointment.
English Football Association sources indicated they had not received any approach from Madrid over Eriksson.
But it is thought they would be willing to let him go following the recent scandal over his relationship with an FA secretary and concerns over his four million pound-a-year salary.
FA board members were believed to have decided against against sacking Eriksson only because of the size of the compensation package they would have to pay.
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is a known admirer of Eriksson and has tried to hire him before.
He has already signed England players David Beckham, Michael Owen and Jonathan Woodgate.
Trevor Brooking, the FA's director of football development, and Steve McClaren could be asked to take temporary charge for next month's World Cup qualifiers against Wales and Azerbaijan if Eriksson goes.
Eriksson, at a UEFA coaching conference in Stockholm on Monday, avoided questions about Real Madrid.
But his agent Athole Still denied there had been any move.
"It's the old, old story. No one has contacted me from Real Madrid or purporting to be from Real Madrid," he told the London Evening Standard.
He added, however, that there would be "nothing illogical" about the move.