Manchester City have made the first moves to appoint Luiz Felipe Scolari as their next manager.

BBC Sport understands contact has now been made between City and Portugal coach Scolari's representatives in a bid to bring him to Eastlands.

City will sack current boss Sven-Goran Eriksson at the end of the season.

Scolari, 59, is believed to be interested in succeeding Eriksson but owner Thaksin Dozens killed in Iraqi fighting ...
Mass accident on Czech motorway not to claim lives ... Shinawatra is still not certain he will land the Brazilian.

Thaksin is believed to want a swift answer from Scolari, with a deal worth a reported £3.2m-a-year ready to be rubber-stamped, but any moves could yet be held up by his commitments to Portugal at Euro 2008.

He has also previously been reluctant to uproot his family from Portugal and cited intrusion into his private life as one of the reasons he rejected the chance to succeed Eriksson as England coach in 2006.

Scolari has two sons who are being educated in Portugal but Thaksin wants to tempt him to the Premier League with a huge financial offer.

City fans have reacted angrily to Eriksson's imminent departure and Thaksin hopes to head off further unrest with a quick announcement that he has captured the man who won the World Cup with Brazil in 2002.

Despite his treatment at the hands of Shinawatra, Eriksson is willing to lead City on their post-season tour of Thailand and Hong Kong next week, a source close to the Swede has told BBC Sport.

The source said it was "business as usual" for Eriksson and his coaching team and that no further talks were planned with Shinawatra before the end of the season.

(BBC)

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