Newcastle United have held talks with Rémi Garde over the weekend but the club are still some way from concluding the hunt for Alan Pardew’s successor.
Although Garde, a former Lyon manager and Arsenal defensive midfielder, is believed to be keen on filling Newcastle’s vacancy for a head coach, other candidates have not been discounted. Garde hopes to visit Tyneside to inspect Newcastle’s training facilities in the coming days but discussions are also planned with at least one rival.
Newcastle’s caution in ensuring they make the right appointment means John Carver is likely to still be in caretaker charge when Southampton visit St James’ Park on Saturday.
With shortlisted names such as St Etienne’s Christophe Galtier, the former Mainz coach Thomas Tuchel and Derby County’s Steve McClaren potentially being available in the summer – although in McClaren’s case that is a remote possibility – the option of Carver continuing until May remains on the table.
Carver, though, is still to preside over a win and may need a victory against Southampton to convince Mike Ashley, Newcastle’s owner, he is a sufficiently safe pair of hands to prevent the team being drawn into a relegation fight.
Garde possesses persuasive advocates in Arsène Wenger and Gérard Houllier but he has limited experience as a No1 and resigned from Lyon last May for a combination of family reasons and exhaustion.
Accordingly Lee Charnley and Graham Carr – Newcastle’s managing director and chief scout and the men spearheading the search on Ashley’s behalf – the club are believed to be assessing the 48-year-old’s case and he is expected to be invited for further talks before any final decision is reached.
A potential sticking point is Garde’s apparent desire to bring his old coaching staff from Lyon, some of whom are still under contract at the French club.
Frank de Boer, the Ajax manager and another name thought to feature on the Newcastle shortlist, has already said that he is not interested in succeeding Pardew.
Unfortunately for Newcastle fans, Moussa Sissoko has made it plain he is extremely interested in joining Arsenal, moreover. On Friday the team’s best midfielder learned that Paris Saint-Germain would not, after all, be trying to sign him this month when Laurent Blanc, the coach, said he does “not fit our profile”.
Undeterred, Sissoko has told the French television programme Téléfoot: “Arsenal have always been the club of my heart … I hope to sign for a big club one day.”
