Fabrizio Romano has provided a major Newcastle managerial update regarding Portuguese coach Paulo Fonseca.

What's the talk?

The Italian journalist has claimed that the ex-Roma head coach is prepared to accept the Magpies job after talks with the new owners at St James Park. However, they are keeping their options open and have not yet decided whether or not they will go with Fonseca to lead the club forward.

Romano told the ¡Que Golazo! podcast, via Shields Gazette: “As we mentioned last week, they were beginning talks with Fonseca and going in with optimism around these negotiations because Paulo Fonseca is prepared to accept the proposal from Newcastle.

“It’s now up to Newcastle. They have everything set with Fonseca but they need to decide if they want to go with him or do something different, talk with other managers and consider other opportunities.

“So Newcastle have not one-hundred percent decided yet, but Fonseca is the front-runner, everything is ready for him, he would be prepared to accept. They’re discussing about money and final things but I’m sure that Fonseca is the front-runner now.

“Let’s see if they want to do something surprising because these [talks] are going on but they’re not signing his contract or not completing his agreement so this is why they are maybe thinking of someone else or something surprising."

Excitement

These claims from Romano will surely leave Newcastle fans feeling excited for several reasons. For starters, Fonseca being prepared to accept an offer from the club is a major boost, as it means that no matter what happens with their other targets, they know that an impressive manager is ready to join at any point.

Fonseca has 320 games as a manager under his belt, averaging 1.94 points per game across five separate leagues. Steve Bruce, who recently left the club, has managed 477 Premier League matches in his career and averaged 1.11 points per game. This suggests that the Portuguese coach would be a significant upgrade on Bruce, which is why the fans would be happy to see him at the helm.

However, Magpies supporters could also be excited by Romano's last quote. He suggests that PIF may be stalling on Fonseca as they plot a surprise appointment, and that could get fans on the edge of their seats as they ponder who else could arrive to take charge of the club. If Newcastle believe that they can bring in a manager with a better record than Fonseca, whose aforementioned career has been impressive so far, that is a very exciting thought for the fans.

It will be quite interesting to see where PIF go with this. As Romano has explained, a deal for Fonseca appears to be close and they could sign off on that and bring him to Tyneside, or else they may go left-field and appoint another head coach...

AND in other news, "Comfortably spend...": Chris Waugh drops big Newcastle claim which should delight fans...