The race to become Newcastle United’s new sporting director is down to two, and Dougie Freedman is still in contention.

The Crystal Palace chief entered the conversation to replace Dan Ashworth at St James’ Park late last month, and suddenly appears to be the favourite for the role.

That honour initially went to Paul Mitchell, but Newcastle United’s interest in him appears to be over.

That is because the Magpies now have two candidates vying for the honour of being the club’s next sporting director, neither of which are the former Monaco and Tottenham Hotspur man.

Who Newcastle’s two leading candidates to become sporting director are

Instead, the Telegraph claim that Newcastle’s final two to replace Ashworth are Freedman and Johannes Spors.

The latter is a 41-year-old German who is currently the global sporting director of the 777 Group, who are in the midst of trying to buy Everton.

The Telegraph note that Spors came across well in his interview, and has more experience in the European market than Freedman.

But it is actually the Scot who is the ‘marginal’ favourite for the job.

Why Newcastle officials were impressed with Dougie Freedman

The Telegraph state that Freedman is the slight favourite for the job ahead of Spors, and is very keen to leave Crystal Palace for this role at Newcastle United.

They add that Toon officials were impressed with the 49-year-old when he was interviewed, with the decision makers appreciating his ‘straight-talking style’.

That could be what gives Freedman the edge over Spors, as Newcastle aim to hire someone who will help improve the club’s recruitment process.

Freedman certainly has a good record when it comes to recruitment, having built a very impressive team at Crystal Palace. He brought in the likes of Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze, Marc Guehi and Adam Wharton, all of which would enhance the current Newcastle United squad.

The Palace chief is excellent at recruiting domestic players at the right time, which is something that the Magpies need to do.

What Eddie Howe recently said about Newcastle signing players

Timing is everything when it comes to recruitment, as Eddie Howe recently said to Gary Neville during an appearance on The Overlap podcast.

“That [smart recruitment] is ultimately going to be where we succeed or fail,” he said.

“When I say smart, I mean we need to get players for cheaper than their market value and we’ve got to get them before they are recognised and develop them. I don’t know another way with the restrictions as they are.”

That will be the task for Newcastle United’s next sporting director, whether it is Dougie Freedman or Johannes Spors.