Here are my thoughts, such as they are.
Anyone who is going to be available is probably now available. Most big clubs have done their business now, which allows the rest of the market to settle. There is no obvious need to wait and see this year, unlike many other years.
Surely we would only pay compo for Lampard, McKenna, or anyone else in work if they were a better manager than one of the out of work options, like Frank, Toppmoller, Dyche, etc. Otherwise why would we do it? And, are either of them better than the ones we can get for free? Not obviously. That suggests we will go for an out of work manager.
We were never, ever going to get Iraola. By all means have a go, but it'd be absolute f***ing madness to pin any serious hopes on it. Football management is snakes and ladders on speed and right now, for this one moment, he's at the top of the biggest ladder. In other words, out of our reach barring unexpected circumstances. I expect, and it is reported, that the club saw things that way, hence the tight deadline he was given. That suggests other options would have been assessed at the same time.
All of which leads back to much the same set of names. Toppmoller. Frank. Dyche. Etc. It surely won't be Dyche as Parish is a bit of a dreamer when it comes to this stuff (hence Pardew, De Boer, Glasner, the attempt to get Nuno or Favre - in different ways he wanted to aim high and/or avoid conservative pragmatic coaching unless in a bit of a pickle).
Which narrows it further....
Someone with a bit of sophistication, even if only in terms of reputation. Surely that means someone who has operated at a level the players will be impressed by. It worked with Glasner. So, someone who has managed at the top end of a league, and in Europe.
So, not Frank.