(Photo by Tony McArdle - Everton FC/Everton FC via Getty Images)

The Magpies are expected to name Steve Bruce their next manager soon.

Newcastle United want to sign Everton duo James McCarthy and Yannick Bolasie once Steve Bruce is appointed, according to 90Min.

They report that the Magpies will swoop for the midfield duo to get the Bruce era off the ground, now that both have been told that they play no part in Marco Silva’s plans for 2019/20.

Bruce managed to get Bolasie – who cost a reported £25 million (BBC) when he joined from Crystal Palace in 2016 -last season when he was manager of Aston Villa and apparently wanted McCarthy too, but was unable to lure him.

Both players have had bad injury problems at Everton and have been unable to get their best form back following long-term absences, with £50,000-a-week (Spotrac) man McCarthy finding games hard to come by in a crowded central midfield pack.

Both men have been strong Premier League performers in the past but not for a little while now, and the duo following Bruce through the door likely won’t please too many Newcastle fans after a chaotic summer so far.

Newcastle should be in a place where they can spend big and compete with the likes of Everton, not take two of their cast-offs when they’re surplus to requirements.

If Bruce has been keen on the pair before, it would perhaps indicate that he knows what their strengths are and what to do with them, but it’s a fairly underwhelming way to kick off a summer’s business.