Fiorentina are set to part company with Vincenzo Italiano in the summer, with Alberto Gilardino, Ivan Juric and Alberto Aquilani the top candidates.
It has been rumoured for some time that Italiano informed the club he intends to move on at the end of the season, having reached the Final of both the Coppa Italia and the Europa Conference League last term, and on track to do it again this year.
Raffaele Palladino of Monza had emerged as a leading option, but then reports suggested there were issues between his entourage and the Viola directors.
Fiorentina had tried to hire Daniele De Rossi when he still didn’t have his coaching badges, but unless Roma decide against confirming him on the bench, he is to be ruled out.
According to Calciomercato.it, the shortlist is currently down to just three men.
Gilardino has still not decided his fate at Genoa, having taken them to promotion from Serie B and currently sitting comfortably mid-table in Serie A.
It would be a return to Florence for Gila, who was a striker there from 2008 to 2012.
Another former Fiorentina player linked with the job is Aquilani, who had started his coaching career in the Fiorentina youth system before branching out at Serie B club Pisa this season.
A third alternative is Juric, whose time at Torino seems to finally be coming to an end following years of tension with the directors and President Urbano Cairo.