Watford are hopeful of winning the race to secure former Hull boss Marco Silva as their new manager, sources close to the club have told ESPN FC.
Watford have made the Portuguese their top target after parting company with Walter Mazzarri last week and have held talks with his representatives as they look to lure him to Vicarage Road.
Talks are ongoing between both parties and sources have told ESPN FC that Watford are hopeful they have done enough to fend off interest from elsewhere to land Silva.
Silva resigned his position as Hull manager on Thursday after triggering a break-clause in his contract allowing him to leave in the wake of their relegation from the Premier League.
The 39-year-old took over from Mike Phelan in January and, despite leading the side to six wins out of his 18 games in charge, it was not enough to keep them up.
Silva impressed during his short stint in charge of Hull and a number of clubs in England and abroad have been monitoring his position.
He held talks with FC Porto earlier this week, while Crystal Palace also sounded him out following Sam Allardyce's shock resignation on Tuesday.