Here are your Newcastle United evening headlines on Wednesday, February 2.
Bruce favourite for West Brom
Former Newcastle United boss Steve Bruce has emerged as the current favourite to become the next West Bromwich Albion manager after the sacking of Valerien Ismael.
The Baggies parted company with the Frenchman following a run of disappointing results which had seen them drop from inside the automatic promotion places and down to fifth.
However, defeats against Preston North End and Millwall in the space of four days proved to be the most damaging of Ismael's short-lived reign and the club announced that he'd be leaving after seven months in charge.
West Brom will now go about sourcing a successor to Ismael, at least until the end of the season - and the current favourite, odds on, is ex-Magpies and Aston Villa boss Bruce, who has been backed at 1/4.
This would be Bruce's first job in management since departing Newcastle in October after two-and-a-half years on Tyneside.
According to Sky Sports, Albion are now in 'advanced negotiations' with Bruce to bring him to the club as their new head coach.
Read more here.
Targett explains how he nearly joined Newcastle
Matt Targett has admitted that he now feels 'ready' to play for Newcastle United after previously deciding not to board a flight to join the Magpies four-and-a-half years ago.
Newcastle have signed Targett on loan until the end of the season after Eddie Howe made a late move for the Aston Villa left-back.
Although fellow new arrivals Bruno Guimaraes, Kieran Trippier, Dan Burn and Chris Wood have, perhaps, received more coverage, Targett may prove an important addition.
"I was about to get on the plane to come up here when I was at Southampton," he told NUFC TV.
"Even at the time, then, I just don't think I was ready and now, having that experience with Villa and Southampton, I feel like I'm in a good place in my career and I'm really looking forward to helping Newcastle.
"For me, I think it was just establishing myself as a Premier League player. At the time, I was still young and it would have been a massive shock to come here. Now, I feel ready and I'm ready to help the team."
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Smith praises Newcastle business
Newcastle United's January transfer window saw the club spend over £90million on new players, with Kieran Trippier, Chris Wood, Bruno Guimaraes, Dan Burn and Matt Targett coming in.
Eddie Howe hopes those players will add the quality that's needed to pull his team out of the relegation battle they've been in since the start of the season. However, former Newcastle midfielder Alan Smith has stated that Howe will have looked at their characters as much as their ability in assessing their fit for his team.
"I’m sure Eddie Howe is looking at the character of players he has brought in as well as their talent, because it takes a certain type of person to help get you out of these situations, to be willing to go there to help fight and get Newcastle out of the situation that they’re in," Smith told Offers.bet.
Smith was known for his leadership qualities whilst at St James' Park and often wore the Captain's armband, particularly in the 2009/10 season as the club won the Championship under Chris Hughton and he said that he felt Newcastle shouldn't be in a relegation battle already, based on the quality of the squad.
"Player for player, you look at Newcastle and think they shouldn’t be in the situation that they are in, but they are."
