David Moyes and Didier Deschamps, the former Juventus manager, are thought to be among the leading candidates for the vacant manager's job at Newcastle United in the wake of Kevin Keegan's resignation.

Reports suggest that the Everton manager, who was thought to be among the front-runners for the post when Sam Allardyce left St James' Park in January, is being favoured alongside Deschamps, who is a former Chelsea team-mate of Dennis Wise.

Moyes is yet to sign a new contract at Goodison Park and endured a frustrating summer, during which a number of high-profile transfer deals fell through.

However, Everton were hopeful the 45-year-old, who joined the club in March 2002, was close to agreeing a new contract this week after completing the club-record £15m signing of Marouane Fellaini on Monday.

However, fears remain that Moyes, whose current deal expires at the end of this season, could still be tempted to take up the reigns at Newcastle. The only obvious drawback for the former Preston North End manager would be that he could be forced to work in tandem with Wise, Newcastle's executive director of football.

Deschamps, who took Monaca to the Champions League final in 2004, has previously expressed an interest in working in the Premier League and would appear to fit into the club's continental coaching structure.

Gustavo Poyet, the Tottenham Hotspur first-team coach, who enjoyed a successful partnership with Wise at Leeds United, is the currently the bookmakers' favourite to become Newcastle’s fifth manager in less than three years, while Wise is expected to take temporary charge of first-team affairs.