Newcastle United are reportedly close to naming former England manager Steve McClaren as successor to John Carver, who is set to revert to his assistant manager position after talks with managing director Lee Charnley.
Various sources, including Sky Sports, suggest that McClaren, currently unemployed after being sacked by Derby County last month, will be formally unveiled as the new Newcastle head coach, following successful talks earlier this week. An announcement is not expected before next week, unless developments progress rapidly over the coming days.
McClaren was offered the job back in April but, due to his commitments to Derby County, he rejected their approach. He has been the bookmakers’ favourite ever since.
In his managerial career, McClaren won the League Cup, and reached the UEFA Cup final with Middlesbrough, as well as winning the Eredivisie title with FC Twente.
Lee Charnley is still exploring all options as they search for a successor to Carver, but the majority of the names on their managerial short-list have already been crossed off (for a number of reasons).
Patrick Vieira was among the short-list of names, drawn up by chief scout Graham Carr. However, due to differences over recruitment and transfer policy, both parties decided not to follow up their initial talks.
