Antonio Conte would likely reject the chance of leading Newcastle’s Saudi-backed assault on the top of English football, according to The Sun.

The £300million PIF takeover at St James’ Park has left Steve Bruce’s position as manager hanging by a thread.

The new board led by financier Amanda Staveley are believed to be looking around for the right person to turn the club into serious challengers for the Premier League.

And ex-Chelsea boss Conte has been one of the most obvious candidates given he is available as a free agent immediately.

Conte’s CV is remarkable at club level having won titles with Juventus, Chelsea and last season Inter Milan.

Given Newcastle’s new might in terms of transfer spending power, they could easily offer the kind of backing the Italian usually demands in the transfer market to do his job.

But The Sun understands the 52-year-old’s current position is that his next job will need to be at a club who are already in a position to genuinely challenge for titles.