West Bromwich Albion officials met with Pepe Mel in London this week.
The former Real Betis coach is a candidate for the manager's job at the Hawthorns.
The Birmingham Mail says Mel was due to return to the Spanish capital to spend Christmas with his family but he is on alert to return for further discussions later this week.
The ex-Real Betis coach would be a relatively straight forward appointment if talks went to plan.
There are no outstanding contractual issues with his former club - he was sacked earlier this month - and he has also been learning English for the last 12 months,
He was on a wage of around £500,000 at the Seville-based club which would also be well within Albion's range should the club wish to pursue him further.
