Newcastle target Paulo Fonseca dressed up as Zorro and nearly took Spurs job

Thankfully for supporters it seems that one candidate is already leading the race to be named as his successor.

Paulo Fonseca has been heavily linked with a move to St James' Park with some suggestions that the head coach is open to the prospect of moving to the North East of England.

So who is the man linked with the Newcastle post?

Here's everything you need to know about Paulo Fonseca.

The player

Born on March 5, 1973 in Mozambique, Fonseca moved to Portugal in his early years.

He started his football journey with his hometown club F.C. Barreirense in the third tier of Portuguese football where he earned a move to one of the country's biggest clubs in Porto.

He spent time out on loan with Leca, Belenenses and Maritimo before completing a permanent move to Vitoria Guimaraes and then Estrela Amadora.

Retiring from playing at the age of 32, Fonseca moved straight into coaching with Estrela Amadora's youth side before getting his big break with Pacos Ferreira in 2012 where he helped the team to UEFA Cup qualification in his first season.

Management career

After a year with Pacos Ferreira, Fonseca earned a move to Porto, however he was sacked after less than a year with the club sitting in third position in the Portuguese title race.

He returned to Pacos Ferreira before moving to Braga whom he led to fourth spot in the league while also winning the domestic cup, the Taca de Portugal.

In 2016, Fonseca earned a move to Ukrainian champions Shaktar Donetsk where he enjoyed real success in his three-year stay.

The Portuguese head coach won a league and cup double in each of his three years at the club, while also reaching the last 16 of the 2017/18 Champions League after beating Manchester City 2-1.

Zorro

He made headlines after that win when he appeared in his post-match press conference as his childhood hero, Zorro.

He had promised his players he'd dress up as Zorro if they reached the knockout phase and duly did so saying: "This is the most joyful news conference of my career."

An almighty mix up

He was appointed as head coach of Roma in the summer of 2019 where he earned a fifth and a seventh place finish in Serie A during his two seasons, while also reaching the semi-finals of the Europa League this year before announcing his exit in May 2021.

It didn't all go smoothly at Roma as Fonseca suffered a substitutions mix-up in a Coppa Italia defeat to Spezia.

The boss was left red-faced after making six changes in total in the cup clash, saying after: "If there was a problem, I honestly didn't know about."

Links with Tottenham

Upon leaving Roma, Fonseca was heavily linked with a move to Tottenham as the top choice of new sporting director Fabio Paritici, who had just left Juventus after 11 years with the club.

According to Fonseca, a move to North London was 'done' until Paritici pulled the plug on the deal due to the 48-year-old's attacking style.

In an interview with The Telegraph, Fonseca explained: "The agreement was done. We were planning the pre-season and Tottenham wanted an offensive coach. It wasn't announced but we planned pre-season players.

"But things changed when the new managing director arrived and we didn't agree with some ideas and he preferred another coach.

"I have some principles. I wanted to be coach of the great teams but I want the right project and a club where the people believe in my ideas, my way to play, and this didn't happen with the managing director.

"It's what the chairman (Daniel Levy) and the sporting director (Steve Hitchen) asked for: to build a team who can play attractive and offensive football and I was ready for that.

"I cannot be a different way. All my teams will have these intentions. Against the biggest teams, I'm not sending out my teams to defend near their own box."

However, renowned journalist Fabrizio Romano revealed that the breakdown in talks was actually down to 'tax issues'.

What's been said about Newcastle job?

Following the decision to sack Bruce as manager, speculation has started to heat up regarding a move for Fonseca.

Reports have claimed that the Portuguese head coach is a top target for the Newcastle owners and would be available for nothing due to him being out of work at present.

With Graeme Jones in interim charge it's reported that talks could take place this week as the Magpies look to step up their search for a new boss.