A senior officer with London's Metropolitan Police is a candidate for chief constable of the PSNI, according to a well-placed Irish Times source.
Mr Hugh Orde (43) is a Deputy Assistant Commissioner in the force led by Mr John Stevens. He has been leading the investigation of the murder of the solicitor Mr Pat Finucane.
The Stevens inquiry into the killing is due to report in early summer and will concentrate on allegations of links between the security forces and loyalist paramilitaries at the time of the murder.
Mr Orde has spent some 2½ years on the case.
His name is thought to be among five or six candidates, more than originally thought. Applications closed on Wednesday, and there was a surprise announcement from the acting Chief Constable, Mr Colin Cramphorn. that he would not be seeking the post permanently.
"In working with the Policing Board over the last six months it has become apparent to me that the board's aspiration is for a chief constable of a style and type that I could never be," he said at the time. The announcement was greeted with surprise and dismay by unionist members of the board.
Two PSNI Assistant Chief Constables are understood to have submitted applications. They are Mr Alan McQuillan and Mr Chris Albiston.
It is also thought that Ms Maria Wallace, the Deputy Chief Constable in Sussex, who is from Co Fermanagh, is in the running. She has worked as acting Chief Constable with her force.