Almost immediately after numerous sources reported Newcastle United would be making a third approach for former Derby County manager Steve McClaren in the coming days, Sky Sports News broke the news that Patrick Vieira is expected to hold talks with The Magpies "early next week". SSN's North East reporter Keith Downie took to Twitter to say: "BREAKING: We understand Patrick Vieira will hold talks with @NUFC early next week over their Head Coach vacancy. More on @SkySportsNewsHQ," before discussing the developments further live on air. Maybe the Head Coach's job isn't the one horse race many accepted it to be. https://twitter.com/SkySportsNewsHQ/status/604755095469891585 The French World Cup winner, who is currently Manchester Citys Elite Development Squad coach,saw his odds for the job slashed from 30/1 to 7/2 on Friday despite being earmarked as a potential replacement for Manuel Pellegrini. The flood of bets came about after it was revealed that the former France internationals contract with The Citizens is set to expire in a few weeks. He has built up quite a reputation while working with the youth at The Etihad so there are likely to be a whole host of clubs after his signature. Vieiras attributes as a gaffer seem to be far from those he displayed during his playing career, as former Gunners teammate Martin Keown explains: Patrick wants to be a manager. He is intelligent, well-balanced and has a burning desire to win. He was a ferocious competitor on the pitch but off it he is a class act. United were reportedly keen to appoint their new man by the end of this upcoming week and it looks like it'll be one of Vieira and McClaren. Watch this space...