Dubai: Lofti Benzarti, sacked by Bani Yas at the end of last season while the club was in second, could be set for a stunning return after just five months, after his successor Jorvan Vieira was sacked Sunday with the club now second from bottom.

A source close to the club said the prospect of a surprise approach for the ousted Tunisian, who led the team up from the second division to fourth and then second in the Pro League from 2009 was a "very real possibility".

Benzarti, has previously managed Tunisian clubs: US Monastir, Olympique de Beja, ES Sahel and Saudi outfit Najran SC.

He is currently coaching newly promoted Al Khuraitiat SC in Qatar's Stars League but that club is second from bottom with four points from six games - without a win his job security there remains unstable there.

Gabriel Calderon, Toninho Cerezo and Levir Culpi have also emerged as frontrunners on the shortlist to replace Vieira at Bani Yas, according to club sources. 

Brazilians Cerezo and Culpi were on the shortlist after Lofti Benzarti was sacked toward the end of last season and both could now be recalled for a second interview now that Vieira has bowed out with one point from three league matches. 

Argentine coach Gabriel Calderon meanwhile, was linked to replace Jorvan Vieira mid tenure but the club vehemently denied such an approach behind Vieira's back. 

Calderon, aged 51, who was also linked with the Al Jazira vacancy, has managed: Caen, Lausanne, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Al Ittihad Jeddah and Al Hilal. He has twice won the Saudi league with Al Ittihad in 2009 and Al Hilal in 2011. He also won the Crown Prince Cup last season. 

Cerezo won the UAE league with Al Shabab in 2008 and before that he accrued two J-League titles, two J-League Cups and one Emperor's Cup at Kashima Antlers. The 56-year-old Brazilian has also managed Vitoria, Guarani, Atletico Mineiro, Al Hilal, Al Ain and Sport Recife. 

Culpi, aged 58, is the current coach of Cerezo Osaka. He is managed 18 different clubs in 25-years of management. In five years at Cerezo, he has taken the club from Division Two to third in the J-League. But last year was disappointing with a ninth place finish.

They got knocked out in their first Asian Champions League excursion in the quarters against Jeonbuk in September.