Newcastle United may have had a lucky escape as former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur manager André Villas-Boas has reportedly turned the Tyneside club down, according to L'Equipe (via Sport Witness).

As per the outlet, the Marseille boss has turned down an approach from the North East, despite an offer to ‘significantly’ increase his wages.

The Magpies are believed to be on the hunt for a big-name manager to replace Steve Bruce should their prospective takeover by the Saudi Arabian investment group go through at St. James' Park.

Villas-Boas is one of the names who is on their list, and it has been widely rumoured he could be leaving Marseille after the departure of director of football Andoni Zubizarreta, as the Toon was touted as a possible destination.

However, a move to NUFC will not be happening as he has already turned down their advances.

Perhaps they are rather lucky that Villas-Boas has said no given his failings in the Premier League. Taking charge of Chelsea in the 2011/12 season, the Portuguese man was sacked in March after some poor results which eventually saw the Blues finish in sixth place in the league table.

AVB switched to bitter rivals Spurs the following campaign, but was eventually sacked again in December 2013. His overall winning percentage in the top flight arguably does not bode well, as he won 42 out of 81 games, giving him a win ratio of 51.9 per cent, according to Transfermarkt. This is relatively low for two big clubs hoping to continuously finish in the Champions League places.

If the would-be owners are ambitious about where Newcastle could finish under them, then not having Villas-Boas at the helm may be a blessing in disguise given he has already failed twice in England.

Geordies, what do you think of AVB? Comment below!