Further, going from Bournemouth to Newcastle is a jump up that Howe, for all of his tactical nous, will find difficult. The south coast side are a minnow in comparison to the north east giants, and the expectations are therefore on a totally different level.

Not forgetting that fans of the Magpies will need Howe to hit the ground running immediately in order to propel them up the division and out of relegation trouble.

Incoming Newcastle manager Eddie Howe will bring with him "at least three coaches" he has previosuly worked with at Bournemouth - according to a report.

The 43-year-old walked away from protracted talks with Celtic in the summer with a key stumbling block being how many trusted lieutenants he could take to Glasgow with him. But that won't be a problem at Newcastle with his former No.2 Jason Tindall set to come with him, Simon Weatherstone and Stephen Purches are two others who remain close to Howe. That issue will draw a wry smile from Celtic fans after their club's ultimately doomed pursuit of Howe following Neil Lennon's departure.

The highly-rated coach was on the brink of taking over at Parkhead, but problems with getting his former staff out of Bournemouth scuppered a deal.

Howe, 43, has not been in management since he left the "Cherries" in August 2020 following the club’s relegation from the top flight.

Howe is familiar with Newcastle players Callum Wilson, Ryan Fraser and Matt Ritchie from his time at Bournemouth, having led the club from League One to the Premier League, where they stayed for five seasons.

Bruce left Newcastle by mutual consent two weeks ago just 13 days after the Saudi Arabia-backed £305m takeover of the club was completed. Since then, Graeme Jones has been in interim charge and the Tyneside club have drawn with Crystal Palace and been beaten by Chelsea under him.

Newcastle are winless in 10 Premier League games this season and, with four points, are second from bottom.