Newcastle United coach, Steve Bruce has left his position on mutual consent.

Bruce had spent just over two years in charge at St James’ Park after succeeding Rafael Benítez in July 2019 and presided over his 1,000th game in club management when Tottenham won 3-2 on Tyneside in front of the live television cameras on Sunday.

Paulo Fonseca, a former Shakhtar Donetsk and Roma coach, is among the contenders to replace Bruce. He is out of work and came close to taking the Tottenham job in June. Lucien Favre, who has managed Nice and Borussia Dortmund, is another on the shortlist.

Bruce kept Newcastle in the Premier League for the past two seasons but has proved a deeply unpopular successor to Benítez, with the hostility deepening in recent weeks. 

With the team second bottom of the Premier League and still to win a game, Bruce’s exit – along with a pay-off understood to be in the region of £7m – was far from unexpected.