Mike Ashley could agree to this for first time as Newcastle owner during on-going managerial search
Rafa Benitez's Newcastle United contract expires on Sunday night, and Magpies managing director Lee Charnley is searching for his successor
Newcastle United's managerial search is under way, but the Magpies are yet to definitively determine the direction in which they will head.
Monday's announcement that Rafa Benitez will leave his position at St James' Park on Sunday once his contract expires was released rather hastily, with both sides still remaining hopeful of a positive resolution as recently as a week-and-a-half ago.
Yet, after talks broke down last weekend, owner Mike Ashley decided to end those discussions and has subsequently tasked managing director Lee Charnley with sourcing a successor to Benitez, and the man who is in charge of the day-to-day running of the Magpies has been narrowing down his list of targets in recent days.
Interestingly, Ashley is in the process of appointing the ninth permanent or interim manager of his 12-year ownership - and all of the previous eight have arrived as free agents.
Benitez had been sacked by Real Madrid in January 2016 before Newcastle named him as manager two months later, Steve McClaren was also dismissed by Derby County before the Magpies approached him in 2015 - although United had flirted with appointing the ex-England manager six months previously while he was still employed, and the Rams argued that contributed to the eventual termination of his deal - while Joe Kinnear was brought in from the footballing wilderness and handed the reins at St James' Park in 2008.
Even United legends Kevin Keegan and Alan Shearer, who were given a role in the home dugout on Tyneside in 2008 and 2009 respectively, were unattached to another club when Newcastle approached them - though the latter did have to take a hiatus from his role as a pundit on BBC's Match of the Day to take temporary charge of his boyhood club. Alan Pardew was also out of work, while both Chris Hughton and John Carver were promoted from within the United backroom set-up.
Dozens of names have been linked with the Newcastle job in recent days - primarily because agents are keen for their clients to be considered for a position at St James' Park - and what is intriguing about the list of prospective successors to Benitez is that it contains a mixture of out-of-work coaches and managers who are currently attached to clubs.
History alone would suggest that Ashley is more likely to sanction a move for a free agent, although Magpies sources insist Newcastle will approach whoever they believe to be the "right candidate" for them, regardless of whether they are in or out of work at the moment. They have considered in-work managers before, and come close to appointing them, although they have never actually done so.
Newcastle United in the post-Rafa Benitez era
Newcastle United are scrambling to come up with a Plan B in the wake of Rafa Benitez's imminent departure. Here is the fall-out from Monday's announcement that the Spaniard would leave at the end of his contract on Sunday.
What next for Newcastle United? The senior man whose influence will grow as embattled club plot 'new direction'
Arsene Wenger asked about return to management amid Newcastle United links
Newcastle United face pre-season crisis: Here's the list of internal candidates who could take the reins as caretaker boss
'We will come back when Mike Ashley is gone' - Wor Flags explain their reasons for stopping displays
Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Claudio Ranieri, Laurent Blanc and Gennaro Gattuso are among the out-of-work coaches who have been touted for the Tyneside position, while world-class managers such as Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger - neither of who are currently employed in management - have distanced themselves from succeeding Benitez.
Yet, although United will consider free agents from both home and abroad, Charnley is also assessing the credentials of some of the most-promising young coaches in Europe who are already in employment.
Rangers manager Steven Gerrard, Nice head coach Patrick Vieira, Manchester City assistant boss Mikel Arteta, Porto's Sergio Conceicao and Belgium's Roberto Martinez are all thought to have featured during conversations over who should feature on the Magpies' final managerial shortlist.
Should Newcastle eventually opt to approach any of those coaches - or indeed anyone who is currently employed - then they will almost certainly need to fork out compensation in order to secure their services.
That mark the first time Ashley has agreed to pay another club a fee for a manager, and could yet provide supporters with an indication of whether or not he is about to sell NUFC.
Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley (left) and managing director Lee Charnley (Image: Newcastle Chronicle)
The Bin Zayed Group claimed in May that they were close to buying the Magpies - but, more than a month on, Ashley remains owner, despite at least two other interested parties having also held talks with his representatives about acquiring United, and the takeover situation is still shrouded in uncertainty as a result.
If Ashley agreed to pay compensation for a coach, it would perhaps suggest that he expected to continue as owner for the foreseeable future - given that new custodians would likely be keen to place their own manager in charge, rather than inherit someone who was appointed during the final days of their predecessor's tenure.
With Newcastle still finalising their shortlist of potential candidates, and no official approaches expected until Monday at the earliest given that Benitez remains employed by United until then, the speculation surrounding which direction United will head in next will continue.
Unless there are rapid developments in the next few days, however, then Under-23s coach Neil Redfearn appears primed to take charge of pre-season training once the first-team squad return to Benton on Thursday.
Who eventually takes over the permanent reins remains undetermined - but, if Newcastle do end up paying out compensation in order to secure the services of an in-work manager, then that will represent a first for the Ashley era.
What now for furious Newcastle United fans? However you feel after Rafa Benitez's departure, this is one thing you must do
Porto's Sergio Conceicao linked to the Newcastle United job but has a huge release clause
Lee Charnley