Fulham chief executive Alistair Mackintosh tried to head off the move by issuing a stern 'hands-off' warning to Villa but if Hughes fails to activate his rolling contract at Fulham in the next 24 hours, he will become a free agent and make himself the clear favourite to succeed Houllier.
Should Hughes decide to stay at Fulham, Lerner will turn to others he has identified to take Villa forward. Everton's David Moyes and Wigan's Roberto Martinez are in the frame, while Steve McClaren and Martin Jol have also been mentioned.
Senior figures at Villa were tied up with more pressing matters as Houllier hampered the club's search for a replacement with legal wrangling over the size of his pay-off. As reported in Sportsmail, Houllier has medical reports that state he is fit to return. Villa contest those.
Clauses in the manager's contract protect the club from a pay-out in excess of £5million if the Frenchman is forced out by ill-health.
What is in dispute is whether his employment is being terminated because of that or if he is being sacked.
Lerner wants to avoid a repeat of the Martin O'Neill affair. The American billionaire had to face a Premier League arbitration panel last week after O'Neill contested the terms of his exit.
When Houllier's departure is finally confirmed, 'mutual consent' will be listed as the reason but there can be no doubt that from Villa's viewpoint this is a divorce of convenience. The marriage has always been an uneasy one and even Houllier's unveiling ended in little more than a public-relations disaster when he was unable to confirm his release from his job with the France Football Federation.
Since then the club have been troubled by on-field problems, off-field squabbles and fights. The French manager has battled with his players, including Stephen Ireland, John Carew, Richard Dunne and Stephen Warnock, as Villa lurched through their league campaign.
As if the club did not have enough problems, two of their England players - Ashley Young and Stewart Downing - refused to commit their futures to Villa.
Young's position is unsurprising after Manchester United made tentative contact for the winger. He said: 'I did find myself sat (watching the Champions League final) thinking, "I wish I was out there". My opinion is that I can play in the biggest and best competitions.
'To challenge myself is to play in big competitions and hopefully one day I'll be able to do that.'
Downing's utterances were little short of a come-and-get-me plea. 'You sit at home and watch the Champions League, you hear the music come on and you see the teams and you think, "This is where I want to be. It's my ambition to play in it and I'd like to do that at some stage in my career".'
Asked whether he will be a Villa player next season, he added: 'I'm not sure. If I don't move and I stay, I'll get on with the job.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1392872/Aston-Villa-want-Fulhams-Mark-Hughes-manager.html#ixzz1O03EWnQu
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