Craig Hope has revealed where things currently stand with Newcastle United's managerial pursuit of Paulo Fonseca.

What's the story?

The Magpies finally reached the inevitable conclusion of seeing Steve Bruce leave the club on Wednesday morning, and attentions naturally have already turned towards who his replacement will be.

And, according to Hope, negotiations have already gotten underway with former AS Roma boss Fonseca.

He said: "Talks with Paulo Fonseca are "ongoing" & sources say he is interested in taking over at NUFC, but stress it is not a done deal. Discussions took place with Fonseca last week over numbers, but it still seems there are different opinions of who is next from within the consortium."

Exciting news for Newcastle

After dragging it out for so long, Newcastle finally got rid of Bruce on Wednesday, and that has paved the way for the Magpies to fully embrace a new era under PIF.

While that in itself is exciting news, Fonseca's name being linked with the job at St James' Park, should be greeted with plenty of positive interest too - journalist Fabrizio Romano was quick to rave about him when he was previously linked with the vacant manager's job at Spurs over the summer.

He said: "He is perfect in the dressing room and perfect in his relationship with the players, which is something really needed at Tottenham at the moment. He likes to play a 3-4-2-1 formation and likes to play with quality and fast players behind the striker, and so he and the club will try to convince Harry Kane to stay.

"But, let’s see. He’s experienced, he’s a good manager and he has great relationships with his players, so it could be something interesting. The dressing room was very good during his time there and he was already appreciated by fans."

Getting the dressing room back on side and building a feel-good spirit behind-the-scenes at St James' Park is exactly what's needed, and Fonseca looks like he's the kind of man-manager who can do just that.

Meanwhile, this Sky Sports journalist has delivered a huge manager update...