Burnley 'make contact' with former Newcastle United manager following shock Bayern Munich move

Vincent Kompany’s surprise move to Bayern Munich could have opened up an opportunity for a former Newcastle United manager to return to the dugout with Championship club Burnley.

The Manchester City legend helped the Clarets to the second tier title in May 2023 but their Premier League stay was limited to just one season when their relegation back into the Championship was confirmed by a defeat against Tottenham Hotspur last month. Despite that disappointment, Kompany still attracted attention from the Bundesliga champions and was officially announced as successor to former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel just under two weeks ago.

Former Magpies striker Craig Bellamy has been put in temporary charge at Turf Moor but a number of familiar faces have already been linked with a permanent role as Kompany’s successor. Former United captain Scott Parker was initially named as favourite to step into the role - but there has been a surprise link with a former Newcastle manager after reports Burnley had ‘made contact’ with Alan Pardew in recent days.

The Sun have claimed the 62-year-old is keen to return to management in England after spells with Dutch club ADO Den Haag, Bulgarian side CSKA Sofia and Greek outfit Aris over the last five years. Pardew’s last role in English football came at West Bromwich Albion but his departure in April 2018 seemed to have brought an end to his time in management.

The former West Ham United and Charlton Athletic manager oversaw a four-year reign at St James Park and led Newcastle to the quarter-finals of the Europa League in 2013 just under a year after they have secured a surprise fifth place finish in the Premier League table. That proved to be the high point of Pardew’s tenure as he struggled to shake off speculation over his close relationship with then-Magpies owner Mike Ashley and club chairman Derek Llambias.

Speaking about his time on Tyneside in an interview with FourFourTwo in 2021, Pardew said: “It is stressful. You can’t get away from it, because there’s a morning paper and an evening paper, and it’s full-on. The city is religiously fanatical about the team, and rightly so. I once went into a petrol station and bumped into a fully-grown man in a full kit – socks, shorts, everything. Incredible. Only in Newcastle have I seen that. I loved it.

“When Palace came in for me I said, “Look, Mike (Ashley): it’s just. I can’t win them over.  I left when we were ninth, I think. We beat Everton in my last game there, but it had reached a point where I thought, ‘It isn’t doing the players any good, me being here’. At first I think Ashley was sad to see me go, but in hindsight I think he felt it was the right thing to do. Palace was a great opportunity. I didn’t think they were performing well and felt I could get more out of the team.”