Bruce Toon move ‘in the hands of both clubs’
Sheffield Wednesday boss Steve Bruce has confirmed he has held talks with Newcastle United about succeeding Rafael Benitez as manager of his hometown club.
58-year-old Bruce was quickly installed as the bookmakers favourite to replace Benitez, who departed St James’ Park when his contract expired on June 30.
An angry Wednesday fan confronted Bruce on the touchline during his side’s 3-1 friendly win against Lincoln at Sincil Bank yesterday.
After the match, Bruce said: “Speculation is speculation. It’s in the hands of the club.
“For me, there is nothing really to talk about until the two clubs reach some sort of compromise.
“Look, it has happened so quickly that I have got to take stock of the situation.”
The Magpies want to appoint Bruce as their new manager as soon as possible with the start of the new Premier League season just a month away.
“It’s understood the two clubs spent Thursday attempting to reach an agreement over compensation.
■ Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was coy about Romelu Lukaku’s Manchester United future as the Inter Milan target hinted at movement next week.
Just two years after arriving from Everton in an initial £75million deal, the 26-year-old is understood to be welcoming interest from the Serie A giants.
Antonio Conte’s side met United in recent days for discussions, but Inter have been struggling to fund a deal for the Belgium international.
The striker missed yesterday’s 2-0 friendly win against Perth Glory due to a knock and fuelled speculation about his future as he left Optus Stadium, telling reporters: “You guys will know something next week”.
Lukaku’s brief comment came as Solskjaer faced questions about the frontman’s fitness and happiness at the post-match press conference.
“There’s been so many speculations, but, yes, he should be fit for Wednesday (against Leeds),” the Old Trafford manager said.
“He trained with the team yesterday.”
Meanwhile, Solskjaer is considering Paul Pogba for the captaincy, despite the Manchester United midfielder’s desire to leave this summer.
Marcus Rashford’s fine strike was followed by an impressive James Garner effort as the Red Devils opened their pre-season with that win against Perth Glory.
Pogba came on at half-time as Solskjaer completely rotated his side at the huge Optus Stadium.
“No, it hasn’t (been decided),” the United boss said of the captaincy, having seen Antonio Valencia depart in the summer.
“So we’ve got quite a few possibilities there and, when the season starts, we’ll announce.”