Newcastle are willing to offer their leading managerial target Paulo Fonseca a contract worth £6m a year, according to reports.
The Magpies are stepping up their pursuit of a new head coach after Steve Bruce departed St James' Park by mutual consent on Wednesday.
Bruce took charge of his 1000th game as a manager against Tottenham last weekend, but it was only a matter of time before he was relieved of his duties.
Eddie Howe, Roberto Martinez, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Lucien Favre have all been linked with the vacancy.
But Fonseca, the former Roma and Shakhtar Donetsk manager, is in pole position to succeed Bruce.
The Daily Telegraph writes that Newcastle are willing to offer Fonseca a deal worth more than £100,000 per week.
The 48-year-old has impressed club officials in a series of talks held over recent days.
Amanda Staveley, a minority shareholder who is responsible for the day-to-day running of the club, believes Fonseca is the man to guide the Magpies to safety in the Premier League.
The final decision would have to be made by the chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan, who represents Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.
But Fonseca is currently the leading contender for the job, and he could be formally installed as early as this weekend.
Graeme Jones has taken charge on an interim basis for now, and he will lead the team against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Fonseca came close to taking the Tottenham job in the summer, but the deal collapsed at the eleventh hour.
“The agreement was done. We were planning the pre-season and Tottenham wanted an offensive coach. It wasn’t announced but we planned pre-season players.
"But things changed when the new managing director [Fabio Paratici] arrived and we didn’t agree with some ideas and he preferred another coach,” Fonseca told the Daily Telegraph in September.
Newcastle will be seeking their first win of the Premier League season when they take to the field at Selhurst Park this weekend.
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