NUFC dealt potential DoF setback

Since the new owners at Newcastle United took charge of the Tyneside club back in early October, the Toon have only managed to win one league game.

Taking the focus away from the players on the pitch and how the team are getting on, with it being well documented in recent weeks that Newcastle are looking to appoint a director of football to take the club forward off the pitch, it seems as though they could be set to miss out on one of their potential candidates.

What’s the latest?

It was recently reported by Newcastle journalist Craig Hope in the Daily Mail that ex-Swansea recruitment chief Andy Scott has been mentioned with the role

However, in a fresh twist, a different report from Football Insider has now claimed that Scott has agreed a deal to join Championship club Middlesbrough instead.

He left his role at Swansea only a few days ago after being appointed back in July 2019 by ex-Swansea chairman Trevor Birch, around a month after Steve Cooper was named head coach at the Championship club.

Huge blow

If this report from Football Insider is true and Scott does end up joining Middlesbrough in the coming days, this surely won’t be good news for Amanda Staveley and co as one of their targets will have to be chalked off the list and therefore narrow down their remaining options for the role.

Would you be disappointed if Newcastle don’t appoint a director before/in January?

Yes

No

No

Moving forward, it would be in the club’s best interest if they secured a director as soon as possible but make sure they get the right person in to give them the best chance of not only potentially securing the best possible incoming transfers in January but to make sure the club is running how it should be and how the owners want it to be run for the foreseeable future under their reign.

It’s a shame because Scott would have been an impressive capture by the Magpies. He helped steer the Swans to consecutive play-off finishes while acquiring the likes of Ryan Manning and Jamal Lowe. Per SofaScore, the former ranks as the club’s seventh-best performer this term while Lowe bagged 14 in his debut campaign in Wales.

Thus, he evidently has a keen eye for spotting talent and surely could have brought a great deal of expertise to St James’ Park. In turn, Staveley will quite understandably be gutted if he moves elsewhere, especially to a rival in the northeast.

Nonetheless, they will have to find somebody else and with the Toon managing to concede 30 league goals in their 15 games so far this season, they need to identify a candidate quickly to fix their vast issues.

In other news: NUFC could land the next Xavi with £31.5m-rated gem who “always finds the best escape” – opinion