Steve Bruce took the brunt of Mike Ashley's absence but may not be rewarded with his 1000th game

By Callum Castel-Nuovo

It has been a busy week on Tyneside as a Saudi-led consortium ended Mike Ashley’s 14-year reign at Newcastle United and took over the club for £300m.

With the fans continuous dismay at Steve Bruce‘s employment as Newcastle manager and rumours that the Magpies boss would be sacked from the club imminently, it was surprising to see Bruce take training recently as new part-owner Amanda Staveley and partner Mehrdad Ghodoussi met the players and the manager this week.

Newcastle United are now the richest club in the world but are winless and second from bottom thus far in the Premier League, leaving no surprise that Bruce is heavily linked with an exit from St. James’ Park.

The managers rumoured to be lined up to replace Steve Bruce are former Borussia Dortmund manager Lucien Favre, current Rangers manager Steven Gerrard, former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard and current bookies favourite Brendan Rogers of Leicester City.

Moreover, the new owners are also looking to hire Ralf Rangnick as Newcastle’s sporting director after the 63-year-old was successful in similar projects with RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg’s rise from existence to Champions League football in just eight years.

With Newcastle being linked with the likes of Manchester United’s Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard, Burnley’s James Tarkowski and Barcelona’s Philippe Coutinho, things appear to be moving very quickly for the Magpies.

However, is it unfair that Steve Bruce won’t be a part of the project?

After all, he has kept the club in the Premier League over the last two seasons with little to no backing financially or publicly. Mike Ashley’s absence around St. James’s Park left Steve Bruce to handle most of the club’s criticism and had the 60-year-old taking the brunt of the fans’ frustrations.

The Newcastle manager had the club as far away from the relegation zone last season as they had been since returning from the Championship, leaving a 17-point gap between the Magpies and the bottom three.

Had Bruce not kept an average Newcastle squad in the Premier League over the past two seasons, the club may not have enticed such an investment from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and could be sat back in the Championship.

Nevertheless, Newcastle have 3 points from seven games in the Premier League and with a new dawn on the horizon at St. James’s Park, it is unsurprising that the new owners are already looking for a fresh start with a new leader.

Whether the new owners look to hire a sporting director first to take the reigns and hire their own manager is something that could impact Steve Bruce and whether he manages his 1000th career game against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. However, it would most likely be his last game as the manager of his boyhood club.