Newcastle ‘will approach Mauricio Pochettino if Eddie Howe leaves to become England’s next manager’ after Three Lions’ No 1 target sent Magpies warning over dynamics at the club

Newcastle will reportedly approach Mauricio Pochettino to become their next manager should Eddie Howe decide to take the England job.

Howe is believed to be the FA’s No 1 target to replace Gareth Southgate after the Three Lions’ Euro 2024 agony. Indeed, he tops a shortlist also featuring the likes of Graham Potter, current Under-21s boss Lee Carsley and, ironically, Pochettino.

As reported by Mail Sport, Howe, 46, warned he must be content with the working conditions at St James’ Park in an apparent message to the club’s hierarchy. He also said he must be ‘free’ to do the job in the way he wants under a new-look structure.

According to The Mirror, Howe is torn between the chance of managing his country – a life-long ambition – and staying at Newcastle. It is said the Magpies are keen for a swift answer owing to the short window they would have to swoop for Pochettino.

Former Chelsea and Tottenham head coach Pochettino remains out of work and it is thought that he would be open to the possibility of managing a national side.

Howe, meanwhile, has lost two of his closest allies on Tyneside after Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi left the club and sold their stakes.

Paul Mitchell, installed as Newcastle’s new sporting director this summer, was the man responsible for first bringing Pochettino to the Premier League, having hired the then unknown tactician at Southampton in his role as their head of recruitment

The two men also worked together during their respective stints at Spurs.

Mitchell is aware of the interest in Pochettino from numerous other quarters and would therefore have to move quickly to tie him down, The Mirror have claimed.

On Friday, Howe responded for the first time to questions about being the favourite to succeed Southgate as England boss but said he was committed to Newcastle. He did, however, specify he would only remain if he felt supported by those above.

‘As long as I am happy, feel supported, feel free to work in the way I want to work, I have not thought of anything else other than Newcastle,’ Howe said.

‘I absolutely love the club, I love the supporters, I love where I’m at in my career. There is no better place for me to be. That is how I feel.

‘That’s always been my key driver – my happiness and my ability to do my job. I absolutely want to stay but it has to be right for me and the club.

‘There’s absolutely no point in me saying I’m happy staying at Newcastle if the dynamic isn’t right. I’m certainly not serving Newcastle well if I do that.

‘As a new team coming together (off the pitch), we have to set boundaries. We have to see if we can work together in a fluid, dynamic way to the benefit of Newcastle.

‘There has been a lot of change at the club this summer. It has been a very difficult summer for everyone connected with the club.’