Brendan Rodgers has become a 'serious contender' to replace Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer at Manchester United amid potential Newcastle United interest according to reports.
The Leicester City boss has been linked with the vacant Magpies job after Steve Bruce left his position earlier in the month following a dismal start to the season.
Graeme Jones has been appointed on an interim basis but a number of high-profile coaches have been linked with replacing Bruce on a permanent basis, including Rodgers himself at one point.
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However, ESPN have reported that the Red Devils are now eyeing the Northern Irishman to become their next new manager should they decide to part ways with Solskjaer.
The Norwegian is under increased pressure after United's 5-0 defeat against Liverpool on Sunday, which stretched their winless run in the Premier League to four matches.
Although he is set to take charge of the game at Tottenham Hotspur this weekend, sources told ESPN that the Red Devils are assessing alternative options in the event that they continue to falter.
Rodgers is someone who has impressed the senior figures at Old Trafford with his work at Leicester, where he has guided them to back-to-back top five finishes and the FA Cup.
But the 48-year-old is currently under contract until 2025 and any move for him could prove to be difficult given the prospect of a costly compensation bill should they try to negotiate his release from the Foxes.
The same would apply to Newcastle in their potential chase of Rodgers, but the wealth of the new owners might prove to be a decisive factor.
Paulo Fonseca and Lucien Favre are among the list of names to be linked with the Magpies, but Rodgers' experience in English football would possibly put him above those two.
Since taking over at Leicester in February 2019, he has won 65 of his 126 matches in charge, losing just 36 and has made the Foxes a competitive outfit at the top of the division.
Rodgers' stock has arguably never been higher, but he did reiterate his stance earlier this month after he was linked with the Newcastle job.
"I absolutely love being here," he said.
"I’m very fortunate. I’ve got a great chief executive and a director of football who I have a close relationship with and a group of players that I really, really enjoy working with.
"We have an infrastructure here that allows us to look to compete. So as long as they don’t want to move me then I’m very happy being here at the club."
Despite this, Rodgers is still being backed by some to take the Magpies to the next level in a similar fashion to what he has done at Leicester during his two-and-a-half year tenure there.
A move for the former Liverpool boss would be a smart idea, but Newcastle's current predicament could make it tough to persuade him to make the switch to the North East.
For now, Jones is set to take charge of his first home game as interim boss when they host Chelsea at St James' Park on Saturday afternoon.
