Former England captain Alan Shearer has held talks with Cardiff over succeeding Dave Jones as boss of the Championship club, BBC Sport Wales understands.
The ex-Magpies manager, 40, is the latest name to be linked with the club.Another former Newcastle boss, Chris Hughton, is also believed to have been on Cardiff's shortlist along with Watford boss Malky Mackay.Ex-West Brom manager Roberto di Matteo and St Johnstone's Derek McInnes have also been linked to the role.ALAN SHEARER'S CAREER
- Played for Southampton, Blackburn and Newcastle
- Leading Premier League scorer with 260 goals
- Made 63 England appearances, scoring 30 goals
- Managed Newcastle for eight games in 2009, failing to prevent relegation from Premier League
However, the odds on Shearer returning to management in the Welsh capital, having had a stint as boss of the club with which he is synonymous, shortened sharply late on Tuesday.
Shearer, a BBC Match of the Day pundit, had eight games in charge of Newcastle at the end of the 2008-09 season, but could not prevent them from slipping to relegation from the Premier League.
"I don't think the Cardiff fans mind him being English," said BBC Wales reporter James Pontin.
"What they wanted was perhaps a big name and they'll be happy that the likes of someone of his stature is being linked to club. They crave success and promotion to the Premier League. However, Shearer's record isn't great. He managed eight games and has a win ratio of 12%."
Bluebirds chairman Dato Chan Tien Ghee has arrived from Malaysia to help chief executive Gethin Jenkins and director Alan Whiteley complete their search for a new manager.
Cardiff, the defeated Championship play-off finalists in 2010, sacked Jones on 30 May after six years in charge.
Shearer has not returned to management since his period in charge at Newcastle.The Bluebirds reached the play-offs last season but, despite boasting the likes of Craig Bellamy, Jay Bothroyd and Michael Chopra, lost to Reading at the semi-final stage.
He expressed an interest in managing the Magpies permanently after his short spell at the club but Chris Hughton was given the role and guided the club back into the top flight.
Shearer is widely regarded as one of the best strikers to have played in the Premier League.
The Newcastle-born player began his professional career at Southampton before Kenny Dalglish took him to Blackburn for a then British transfer record £3.3m in the summer of 1992.
He helped Blackburn to the runners-up spot in the 1993-94 season before guiding Rovers to the title the following season, scoring a league record 34 goals.
Shearer moved on to Newcastle in 1996 for what was at the time a world-record fee of £15m. Although he did not win a title with the Magpies, he became the club's all-time leading scorer with 206 goals from 395 appearances. He is also currently the all-time leading Premier League scorer with 260 goals.
He won 63 caps for the national side, scoring 30 goals, including five goals at Euro 96 which was enough to land him the tournament's golden boot prize.
Former Wales and Cardiff striker Nathan Blake said he was unsure as to whether Shearer would be the right choice for the Championship club.
"It's come as a big shock, a big surprise - all fans will be feeling the same," Blake told the BBC.
"As far as management is concerned there's still a lot for Alan to prove. I've said it many a time - if you've not played or managed in the Championship, it's a very different league to the Premiership.
"The Malaysians [owners] are new to this. The chief executive [Gethin Jenkins] at Cardiff is new to this.
"It's a big ask for someone like Shearer to step down into the Championship and take a club like Cardiff, where expectation is so high, and get them to the Premiership.
"It's going to be a very, very difficult task."
Of the other candidates, Watford last week released a statement stating that "no official approach for the services" for Mackay had been received.
Mackay replaced current Swansea City boss Brendan Rodgers in the Vicarage Road hotseat in June 2009 when Rodgers left for Reading.
McInnes is currently the manager of St Johnstone and led the Perth side to the First Division title in 2009. In May, he rejected an offer to become the new Brentford boss. Hughton and Di Matteo, who led their former clubs to promotion from the Championship two seasons ago, are currently out of work.
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