Mick Harford's appointment as assistant to the Newcastle director of football Joe Kinnear has fallen through.
It emerged on Sunday that the 54-year-old former striker was in discussions with the club he briefly represented as a player over a role working alongside his former Wimbledon manager. However, according to the Press Association those talks have failed to reach a successful conclusion.
It had been suggested that Harford would concentrate on the domestic market, helping Kinnear identify potential targets from the lower leagues and monitoring players sent out on loan by manager Alan Pardew. But news of the talks sparked further claims that Pardew was being undermined and owner Mike Ashley was installing a shadow management team above him.
Pardew and the players are in Portugal, where they are continuing their preparations for the season following a 3-1 friendly defeat by Rio Ave on Saturday. Shola Ameobi picked up an arm injury during the game.
Newcastle are understood to be interested in Lyon's France international striker Bafétimbi Gomis, while Aston Villa's Darren Bent remains in their sights.
Papiss Cissé's future remains in doubt because, as a Muslim, he has refused to wear training kit sponsored by the loan company Wonga.
Pardew told Newcastle's Chronicle newspaper: "I'm focusing on the team out here, and Joe, Lee Charnley [the club secretary] and Graham Carr [the chief scout] are looking to get someone over the line. At the minute, especially if Shola's missing and with no Papiss out here, we're a little bit light for a Premier League team. I spoke to Joe on Friday and he has some important meetings."
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