Former Newcastle midfielder is now interested in returning in a coaching capacity

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Newcastle United are on the lookout for a new U21 manager.

The Newcastle academy hasn’t always been the most productive when it comes to the first-team but had to be called upon last season.

Indeed, an injury crisis limited Eddie Howe’s options for much of the campaign, meaning he had to turn to some of the club’s promising youngsters.

Lewis Miley was perhaps the headline example of that. Thrust into the starting eleven, the talented teenager impressed and was duly rewarded with a new contract. Ben Parkinson is another to have made his first steps into the senior side of the game.

Now, however, the U21s are without a manager. Ben Dawson has left the club to join Leicester City, meaning Newcastle are on the lookout for a new coach to oversee matters at that particular age level.

According to Craig Hope, a former Newcastle player and coach is interested in making a return.

Lee Clark wants Newcastle return in coaching role

Taking to social media platform X, Hope revealed that Lee Clark was keen on the role.

The former midfielder not only played for his boyhood club but coached the U23s in 2007 before embarking on a managerial career to have taken him to the Championship, Scotland, Sudan and Oman.

Ex-Sunderland manager Jack Ross is reportedly seen as a possible interim solution given he is already inside the academy.

Lee Clark is still a huge Newcastle fan

Clearly a manager capable of trying his hand in all manner of cultures, the emotional connection Clark has with the club has to count for something, too.

Indeed, he’s made little secret of his desire to see his son Bobby – once part of Newcastle’s academy – return from Liverpool.

Whether that makes him right for the job is up for debate but Clark clearly has credentials and would surely be a popular appointment amongst supporters.