Newcastle line up Fonseca to take over after Bruce’s toxic reign ends
Paulo Fonseca is one of the frontrunners to replace Steve Bruce as Newcastle United manager after it emerged the club’s new owners spoke to him before they bought the club in the summer.
Bruce’s largely unhappy two-year reign at Newcastle was finally brought to an end yesterday after more than a week of uncertainty and confusion, with a statement saying that he had left “by mutual consent”.
For once, that phrase was an accurate one, with Bruce admitting it was in the club’s best interests for him to go, having initially been asked if he would stay until they found a suitable replacement, possibly even until the end of the season.
Bruce, though, was fed up with the toxicity surrounding him and the constant criticism. The defeat by Tottenham Hotspur last Sunday made it eight games without a win in the league and he felt, for everyone’s sake, including the new board and the players, that he should go with immediate effect.
That message was relayed to chairman Yasir Al-rumayyan at a meeting on Tuesday and he agreed
to pay Bruce’s £8 million compensation clause.
The club have been working to identify a replacement and The Daily Telegraph can reveal that Fonseca was first approached by representatives of the new Newcastle regime during the summer, when they were considering what they would do if they got control of the club and discussions have now reopened.
It is understood Fonseca held talks with Newcastle officials, including Amanda Staveley and Lee Charnley, yesterday, with discussions centring around his ideas on football, rather than any contract details.
Fonseca would be interested in taking over at Newcastle after leaving Roma at the end of last season and almost being appointed as Tottenham head coach.
But he is not the only candidate that Newcastle are speaking to and, while Fonseca is thought to have support from shareholder Staveley, others within the group are thought to be looking at and pushing different options.
Former Chelsea head coach Frank Lampard, who is ready for a return to management, is one of those under consideration, along with Eddie Howe and Steven Gerrard. Lucien Favre, the former Borussia Dortmund manager, completes the