Newcastle United reportedly have three names at the top of their new manager shortlist to replace Steve Bruce at St James' Park.
It is widely being claimed that Bruce had been given a stay of execution following his 1,000th game as a manager, and the new Saudi-led regime has identified his replacements.
The Times reports that Roberto Martinez, Unai Emery and Steven Gerrard are the three men at the top of the shortlist to replace Bruce, who may not be in charge by the time Newcastle play against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Martinez is currently in charge of Belgium, but is out of contract in the summer. There are suggestions that he could combine his role as head coach of the national team with a role at Newcastle until this deal expires.
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Martinez is widely respected in the English game following previous spells in charge of Swansea City, Wigan Athletic and Everton.
Meanwhile, Gerrard has caught plenty of admiring glances during what has been a very successful spell with Rangers, after ending Celtic's dominance of Scottish football by winning Rangers' first title in 10 years. They have made a fine start to this season too, and sit top of the table again after nine games.
Emery has won the Europa League three times in his managerial career, most recently leading Villarreal to a surprise triumph over Manchester United in last season's competition.
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The only blot on the Spaniard's reputation comes after an ill-fated 18 months in charge of Arsenal between May 2018 and November 2019.
Bruce is stoically carrying on in his role for now, following on from questions about his future in recent days.
"I met the new owners this week, and they made it clear to me: carry on. That's what I will do until I hear otherwise," he explained on Friday.
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"I'll wait until they see fit and we'll see what they are going to say," he added on Sunday. "You better ask somebody else about that one."
Topics: Steve Bruce, Unai Emery, Roberto Martinez, Steven Gerrard, Newcastle United