Newcastle line up ex-Milan boss with Bruce exit ‘around the corner’

Newcastle United are considering a move for former AC Milan boss Gennaro Gattuso if they sack Steve Bruce, according to reports in Italy.

The Magpies are currently hovering above the relegation zone after gaining three points from their opening six matches of the Premier League season.

Bruce’s side were held to a 1-1 draw with newly-promoted Watford on Saturday as Newcastle continue to look for their first win of the campaign.

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And now Italian website Calciomercato claims that Bruce’s sacking is ‘around the corner’ at Newcastle and that ‘Gattuso is on the bench’.

A World Cup winner as player, Gattuso has managed two of the biggest clubs in Italy in the form of AC Milan and Napoli.

He left his role in Naples at the end of last season after failing to qualify for the Champions League – but was heavily linked with Premier League side Tottenham in the summer.

And Calciomercato add that he is ‘among the names screened by Newcastle’ with Bruce likely to be on his way out of the club soon.

They add that Gattuso is on ‘pre-alert’ over the potential appointment with the report claiming October 2 – when Newcastle travel to Wolves – is a key date for Bruce’s future at the club.

It is understood that if Newcastle lose to Wolves then the Newcastle hierarchy ‘could opt for the change of the bench thus taking advantage of the two-week break for the national teams’.

Speaking in July, Gattuso claimed that “keyboard hatred” cost him a shot at the Tottenham job before Spurs appointed Nuno Espirito Santo.

“I find it hard to think that this was the reason for my failure to move to Tottenham. At the limit, their fans may have been left with the image of my fight with Jordan in 2011, who was their assistant manager at the time,” Gattuso said.

“Me racist, sexist and homophobic? That’s not true, ask my former teammates. Only some of my statements have been misrepresented.

“My story teaches that keyboard hatred is something dangerous and underestimated. I am a public figure and I have the strength to react, but there are many other people who may not succeed and maybe throw themselves out of the window out of weakness.”