Steve Bruce fears he only has weeks left as Newcastle boss amid £300m takeover with Pochettino linked as replacement
Sponsored by
STEVE BRUCE fears he only has weeks left as Newcastle boss amid the £300m takeover with Mauricio Pochettino linked as a replacement, according to reports.
The Magpies boss is set to be given until end of season to prove to the new Newcastle owners he can deliver Europe but he doesn't expect to be part of long term plans.
Last Tuesday, SunSport revealed controversial owner Mike Ashley is on the verge of selling the Magpies for a knockdown £300million to a Saudi group led by Amanda Staveley.
According to the Bruce has been kept in the dark by the current owner over what is happening, with the only information passed on that he will be the first to know if and when something happens.
The 59-year-old reportedly fears he has just weeks left of his reign at St James' Park.
The Toon boss was appointed by Ashley at the start of the season but his arrival was seen as an underwhelming choice to replace Rafa Benitez.
The former centre-back has guided the Magpies to 13th in the table and clear of the drop zone but ex-Toon boss Sam Allardyce recently expressed fears that Bruce could be axed under the new owners.
Despite leading Tottenham to last season’s Champions League final, Poch was dismissed in November after four-and-a-half years and replaced by Jose Mourinho.
Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Manchester United have since been linked with an approach for the former defender but a return to the Premier League appears to be top of his agenda.
The move would just be phase one of the North-East giants’ desperate scheme to get back to the top of English football and deliver Europe.
Massimiliano Allegri, 47, has been linked with the top job at St James' Park after going out of work since leaving Juventus at the end of the 2018-19 season.
However the odds on the Italian becoming Newcastle’s next manager were slashed dramatically by bookies last week.
Allegri – who won five Serie A titles in his five seasons at Juventus – is now second-favourite at 6/1 with Paddy Power to take the role.
Rafa Benitez, is runaway favourite at 3/1 and Martinez and Pochettino is 14/1.
It doesn't look good for Bruce, with 4/11 to not be in charge for Newcastle's first game of the 2020-21 season – whenever it resumes.
Official paperwork shows the deal is close with a Saudi Arabia-backed consortium, involving Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the head of the Saudi Public Investment Fund and a close associate of Mohammed bin Salman, will become new chairman – with his powerful friend also involved in the Magpies’ takeover.
The Toon’s new wealthy backers will become the Premier League’s richest owners once their takeover at St James’ Park is completed.
most read in football
The Saudi consortium will own 80 per cent of the club – with Staveley and the Reuben brothers evenly splitting the remaining 20 per cent.
Ashley is set to pocket £17million even if the £300million takeover falls through with the Middle East consortium paying that figure as a deposit.
Newcastle supporters will have to wait for the official confirmation once the Premier League has signed the deal off, which will be within the next three weeks.