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Collette Roche, the Manchester United operations chief, has become one of the candidates for the post of chief executive at Newcastle United, Telegraph Sport understand.
Newcastle is looking for a new managing director to lead the club after its release last September that Darren Eales would resign after receiving a diagnosis of blood cancer. Eales continues in his post until a successor is found.
Vinai Venkatesham, the former managing director of Arsenal, was linked to the position, who would have aroused considerable interest.
Newcastle is conducting in -depth research and Eales, which previously worked in Tottenham and Atlanta United, and has a long period of notice, explained how he did not want to leave the club “in the Luch”.
Roche would have been among several names linked to the role of chief executive in Everton before the appointment in March of Angus Kinnear, who should officially start in June after eight years at Leeds United.
The role of Roche at Old Trafford has been extended since Ineos acquired a minority participation in the club last year. She assumed a much more practical role in football operations since the release of Dan Ashworth as a sports director in December and was also a key figure in the delivery of an overhaul of 50 million sterling pounds from the United Carrington Training Base.
This was in addition to the leading role that she played in the new stadium project of 2 billion pounds Sterling of United and the chairmanship of the board of directors of the Manchester United Foundation, the club’s charitable arm.
Manchester United refused to comment when he was asked that Roche be in the running for the role of Newcastle. Roche, who joined United in 2018 from Manchester airport, where she had been director general, would remain fully engaged in United Operations and has been well integrated into the new leadership group.
There is no suggestion that it has been expelled, even if it is now the only survivor of the executive management team which existed before the strategic examination which finally led to ineos of Sir Jim Ratcliffe taking a 28.94% stake in the club.
In March, it appeared that the director of the people and the transformation of United, Annie Hale, the sales director Florence Lafaye and the director of commercial development James Holroyd were to all leave the club in the last upheaval of the senior management.
These departures followed the outings in the previous 15 months of many senior personalities, including Richard Arnold as managing director and managing director of the club, John Murlough.
Ashworth was brought to replace Murtugh but only lasted five months as sports director.
