Villareal coach Unai Emery has held talks with Newcastle United over the vacant managerial job.
Talks between the Spaniard and the Toons have already taken place with more negotiations scheduled for Wednesday as Newcastle close in on their No 1 target.
The former Arsenal boss will take £5m worth of compensation to get him out of his current deal.
It is thought that while Emery is happy at Villarreal, he is open to hearing what Newcastle have to say.
There is a feeling the 49-year-old has unfinished business in the Premier League since he was unceremoniously sacked by Arsenal in 2019.
On Monday, Emery said: "I don't know anything about Newcastle."
Newcastle want to have a new manager in place by the weekend, ahead of their game away at Brighton who are riding high in the Premier League table.
Newcastle had previously been linked with former AS Roma manager Paulo Fonseca but it is unlikely the Portuguese will succeed Steve Bruce at Saint James Park.
Lucien Favre, Eddie Howe and Roberto Martinez are other candidates that Newcastle remain interested in.
Bruce was sacked 13 days after the Saudi-Arabia backed £305m takeover of Newcastle last month following a poor run of form at the start of the season which culminated in a 3-2 defeat to Tottenham.
Graeme Jones has assumed caretaker charge and oversaw Saturday's 3-0 defeat to league leaders Chelsea leaving them winless in the league this campaign.