Celtic are on the lookout for a new first-team manager after Ange Postecoglou opted to depart Parkhead in favour of a switch to the Premier League.
The 57-year-old's exit was confirmed earlier this week, and this has left majority shareholder Dermot Desmond and chairman Peter Lawwell, alongside the rest of the board, in need of finding a replacement.
The Hoops are coming off the back of winning a domestic treble, thanks to their success in the Scottish Premiership, League Cup and FA Cup, and could use their platform as a team that is able to win trophies on a regular basis to lure an excellent manager to the club.
One manager who has recently been linked with the vacant post is Italian coach Francesco Farioli, who could be a superb appointment by the Scottish giants.
Who is Francesco Farioli?
The 34-year-old boss is out of work after deciding to leave Turkish side Alanyaspor at the end of the 2022/23 campaign after finishing fifth and tenth in the Super Lig and the tinkerer could be Desmond's own version of Brighton & Hove Albion's Roberto De Zerbi at Parkhead.
Prior to joining the Seagulls, the Italian had finished eighth or lower in five of his last six league seasons as a coach – winning the title with Shakhtar Donetsk in the other.
He then led the Premier League side to a sixth-placed finish and secured European football in his first campaign in England, whilst playing exciting progressive football.
Farioli, who was hailed as a "talented coach" by journalist Fabrizio Romano, is known in Italy as the 'young De Zerbi' after working with the Brighton boss for three seasons at Benevento and Sassuolo.
He soaked up knowledge from the now-Premier League chief and used his experience with him in the Serie A to form his own coaching career, with both managers deploying a high-pressing 4-2-3-1 system that encourages brave play on the ball from technically gifted attacking players.
Speaking about his style of play, Farioli once said: "I think it's important to build a team of players with passion for what they do. They must enjoy the ball, approach the game in a brave and proactive way."
The Italian is yet to win his first trophy in management at the incredibly young age of 34, but he is a coach with potential who could go on a journey with Celtic and build something special in a similar way to how De Zerbi has transformed Brighton into a European side.
It would not be a safe or easy appointment for Desmond to make but it could be one that is a gamble worth making if he can instil an exciting brand of football and become a success at Parkhead in the years to come.