Newcastle United have reportedly set their sights on appointing former Roma boss Paulo Fonseca, and will hold talks with the Portuguese manager in the next 24 hours.

The new Magpies owners relieved Steve Bruce from his duties in the North East on Wednesday and the process of finding his successor has already begun, with Fonseca an early candidate for the hot seat at St James' Park.

Many managers have been linked with the Newcastle role, including Wayne Rooney and Brendan Rodgers, but Fonseca is believed to be an attractive proposition given that he is currently out of a job.

The Daily Mail reports that the 48-year-old is open to accepting the job at Newcastle and it is understood that talks have already started to put together a strategy for the side's upcoming fixtures.

Fonseca is likely to become the leading candidate for the job should the negotiations be positive, ahead of others such as Eddie Howe, Frank Lampard and Lucien Favre.

The most successful period in Fonseca's managerial career came when he was in charge of Shakhtar Donetsk, where he won seven trophies in three seasons.