Eddie Howe has reportedly agreed a deal - in principle - to become the new manager at Newcastle United.
The Premier League club have been under the temporary stewardship of Graeme Jones for the past two games, having sacked Steve Bruce a fortnight ago.
Howe is Newcastle's second choice to replace Bruce, having been turned down this week by Villareal head coach Unai Emery.
Former Sevilla and Arsenal boss Emery had looked set to arrive at St. James's Park before the weekend, but talks with Villareal president Fernando Roig after Tuesday night's Champions League win over Young Boys convinced him to stick with the 'Yellow Submarine'.
That left Howe on the new Newcastle owners' shortlist. The 43-year old has been out of work since August 2020 when he ended an eight-year reign at Bournemouth.
Howe was strongly linked to the Celtic job during the summer, but saw talks break down over what the Glasgow club described as factors "outside both his and our control".
According to The Telegraph, Howe has provisionally agreed to take the Newcastle position with a two-and-a-half year contract in place.
It's said the ex-Cherries manager impressed the freshly-minted Newcastle board during the interview process in the wake of Bruce's sacking.
He's expected to take a number of his former colleagues at Bournemouth with him to Tyneside, including Jason Tindall and Simon Weatherstone.
Howe's appointment is likely to be rubber-stamped ahead of this weekend's Premier League meeting with Brighton, although Graeme Jones will be in the dugout for that game.
“If Ronaldo wasn’t there, they’d be in bits” | John Giles on MUFC, Duff and Conte
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
