Dougie Freedman has emerged as the surprise favourite for the vacant managerial position at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

On Tuesday, Wolves announced that they had sacked Walter Zenga after just 17 games in charge, and former England boss Sam Allardyce and Portuguese coach Marco Silva were soon installed as the most likely candidates to replace the Italian.

However, while Allardyce remains a popular choice with the club's supporters, Freedman is seen as the even-money favourite to return to a club where he spent a year of his playing career.

The Scot enjoyed a relatively successful spell with Crystal Palace over a 21-month period, but he struggled during his time at both Bolton Wanderers and Nottingham Forest and has been out of work since March.

Vitor Pereira - who has managed Porto, Olympiacos and Fenerbahce during the past five years - also appears to be in the running after being installed as the third favourite with most leading bookmakers.

First-team coach Rob Edwards is currently pencilled in to take charge of the side for the away trip to Blackburn Rovers at the weekend.