Gary Smith is favourite ahead of Paul Ince and Arsenal legends Martin Keown & Steve Bould to become new Stevenage manager

Smith held talks with the League One club’s chairman Phil Wallace in Florida on Tuesday and is set to fly from his US base to England for a second round of negotiations early next week.

Stevenage have targeted a young, energetic manager to succeed Graham Westley, who left for Preston North End last week after guiding the Hertfordshire club to back-to-back promotions.

Former England internationals Ince, Bould and Keown are all interested in the post and will have completed first interviews by the end of this week. The other principal candidate is Paul Buckle, who was sacked by Bristol Rovers earlier this month.

Ince, 44, is keen to return to management after leaving Notts County in April, while Keown, 45, and Bould, 49, are ready to dip their toes into the waters of club management.

Bould has been Arsenal’s youth-team coach since 2001 but it is understood that he has grown frustrated with Arsene Wenger’s reluctance to enhance the parameters of his role. Bould would like to have a more hands-on role with the senior defenders.

Stevenage are in no rush to make an appointment and intend to carry out a thorough process before confirming the new manager.

Former Wycombe midfielder Smith does not have a big profile in the UK but he has achieved notable success in the States during his three-year spell with the Rapids.

Smith guided the Denver-based club to the MLS title in 2010 with a budget that was half that of any of his rivals and also took them to the 2011 play-offs before his contract ended last December.