Top target: Newcastle want title-winning 52 y/o if Howe quits for England

da bet7： Newcastle United will reportedly "make a move" for a manager who Pep Guardiola thinks is "excellent", should Eddie Howe become England's next boss.

Newcastle manager Howe linked with England job

da heads bet： Gareth Southgate has announced that he is leaving his role in charge of the Three Lions, with the FA now searching to find an ideal successor in the coming weeks and months. The 53-year-old enjoyed an impressive eight years in the role, so his replacement will be under pressure to impress from the off.

Howe has emerged as one of the favourites to take over from Southgate, even long before this week's confirmation, having enhanced his reputation as one of the best English managers of his generation during an excellent spell in charge of Newcastle. He guided the Magpies into the Champions League, and while last season was disappointing overall, he still has more than enough credit in the bank.

The likes of Graham Potter and Lee Carsley also appear to be very much in the mix to succeed Southgate, as well as more left-field and unlikely appointments such as Jurgen Klopp and Jose Mourinho, but Howe could arguably be among the front-runners if he wasn't already.

As it is, the Newcastle manager appears to be happy at St James' Park currently, but the lure of taking the most high-profile job could still be looming over him. Should that happen, PIF will need to find a replacement, and it looks as though their priority option has been lined up.

Newcastle line up "excellent" Howe successor

According to a new update from The Mirror, Newcastle will "make a move" for Mauricio Pochettino as a replacement for Howe, should the latter leave for England. It is noted that he has "just lost his two biggest allies in the boardroom, Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi", which could arguably sway his thinking.

The Magpies boss is "believed to be torn between the chance of managing his country and staying at St. James’ Park", and Pochettino is described as the "No.1" target to come in.

Pochettino's stock has fallen a little in recent years, having been an extremely highly-rated manager during his Tottenham days, guiding them into the 2019 Champions League final, which they eventually lost to Liverpool.

The Argentine's time at Paris Saint-Germain wasn't exactly earth-shattering, even if he did still win one Ligue 1 title, and he left Chelsea by mutual consent after less than a year in charge at Stamford Bridge.

Mauricio Pochettino's managerial career

Matches

Points per game

Chelsea

51

1.78

Paris Saint-Germain

84

2.15

Tottenham

293

1.84

Southampton

60

1.45

Espanyol

161

1.22

Still, Guardiola has described him as "excellent", clearly thinking of him highly as a boss, and it would be unfair to judge his time at Chelsea too harshly, considering the number of managerial changes at Stamford Bridge in recent years.

Pochettino plays a good brand of attacking football, often adopting a 4-2-3-1 formation, and while keeping Howe should be the preferable outcome for Newcastle, he could be a strong option to come in if the current boss opted to take the England job.