The Newcastle United managerial job became available after Steve Bruce was relieved of his post following the Saudi-backed takeover which finally went through last month.
National Daily understands that former Arsenal boss Unai Emery has emerged as the leading and preferred candidate of the Newcastle hierarchy to replace Bruce.
It was further gathered by National Daily that talks had already been held between the Villarreal manager and the Premier League side as confirmed by the Spaniard.
Meanwhile, Emery has wasted no time to reestablish his ‘100 percent’ commitment to Villarreal, but not without thanking Newcastle for considering him for the job.
Emery in a released statement on Wednesday expressed his thoughts: ‘For all the noise there was yesterday in another country, inside the club there was transparency and loyalty with the Roig family and with my squad, which is at its maximum and for me is the most important thing.
‘Honestly, I am grateful for the interest of a great club, but even more grateful to be here and that is why I communicated to Fernando Roig my decision to continue being part of this project, thanks to the commitment and respect that I feel from the club and my players, which is mutual and reciprocal.
“I want to thank the fans for the support they have given me always shown me. On Sunday we have a very important game and I hope we can all together get victory. See you at the Estadio de la Ceramica.”
And while the managerial job at St James’ Park remains open, National Daily learnt that former Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe is thought to be their alternative target.