The new owners of Newcastle United are now reportedly coveting Gareth Southgate as a potential replacement for Steve Bruce.

The Lowdown: Changes expected

As per 90min, the St. James' Park faithful's new owners are now ready to put in place a new management team, which is set to see Bruce and managing director Lee Charnley leave 'within weeks, if not sooner', following the completion of the takeover by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium.

Of course, a new manager would have to be brought in to replace Bruce, and it will no doubt be interesting to see just how ambitious the owners will be with their appointment.

The Latest: Southgate coveted

According to 90min, Southgate is now being coveted by the owners to take charge in the North East, although he cannot leave his current role as England boss for another 12 months.

Manchester United first-team coach, Michael Carrick, is also being considered, but Southgate's experience over him may give him the edge.

The Verdict: Avoid

Although there is a lot to admire about Southgate, as Englishman John Stones described him as 'ruthless' back in March after a win streak for The Three Lions, the fact of the matter is he has relatively little experience managing at club level, with his only spell at Middlesbrough ending all the way back in 2009 (Transfermarkt).

Yes, he has won 117 of the 249 games that he has managed, giving him a decent 47% win rate, but you also have to consider the lower-quality teams that England often face in qualifying matches for major tournaments.

Nonetheless, Southgate does not have the experience of spending particularly big sums of cash on big players either, and with the abundance of riches that the next manager is likely to get to spend on Tyneside, the Magpies are better off looking for a more high-profile name.

In other news, find out what 'big boost' NUFC have received here!