Huddersfield Town’s players and fans will be hoping David Wagner is still their manager when the Sky Bet Championship resumes after this weekend’s international break.

Wagner, who arrived at the club in November last year and has guided the team to the top of the Championship after eight wins in 11 matches, has been linked with the vacant manager’s post at Aston Villa after the firing of Roberto Di Matteo on Monday.

Speculation was rife yesterday that Wagner could be on a shortlist to replace the Italian who left Villa in nineteenth place with only one win in 11 league matches after taking over in the summer.

By comparison, Wagner has transformed Huddersfield into early promotion hopefuls less than a year after replacing Chris Powell.

Tony Jiantong Xia, Aston Villa’s owner, has already praised the German for the “Wagner Revolution” that has occurred at the John Smith’s Stadium over the past 11 months.

However, fans of the West Yorkshire club do not want to lose Wagner, whose coaching style has been praised by Nahki Wells, last season’s top scorer.

Wagner helped revive the Bermuda striker’s season and has been instrumental in keeping the 26-year-old at the club in the wake of keen interest from a few Championship clubs, including Villa who, along with Newcastle United, were relegated from the Premier League last season. They are two of the biggest clubs in the Championship.

Also linked with the Villa job are Steve Bruce, the former Hull City manager who is presently unemployed, Dean Smith of Brentford, a boyhood Villa fan, Steve Clarke, the Villa assistant manager, and Ryan Giggs, the former Manchester United assistant.

After Huddersfield finished nineteenth last season, Wagner rebuilt the squad by making 13 signings in the summer.

With eight wins and a draw from 11 games, this has been the most successful start to a season in Huddersfield’s 108-year history. Crowds are at their highest since the 1970/71 season, when the team was playing in the top flight, something their fans are starting to believe could be a reality again.

Villa host Wolverhampton Wanderers next week Saturday, following the international break, while Huddersfield take on Sheffield Wednesday at the John Smith’s Stadium the day after, in a match that will be televised on SportsMax.