Man United coach emerges as contender for EFL managerial vacancy | OneFootball

Manchester United academy coach David Hughes has been identified as a contender for the vacant managerial position at Newport County.

Newport County have identified Manchester United under-21's coach David Hughes as their potential new manager after sacking Nelson Jardim in April following a run of poor results.

The Exiles are on the hunt for a fourth new permanent manager since October 2021, with James Rowberry and Graham Coughlan both falling before Jardim did.

Having finished 22nd in League Two, Newport were close to the drop, and majority owner Huw Jenkins will need to get this appointment right to steer County back in the right direction.

Man United under-21's coach David Hughes is a candidate for Newport County job

According to a report from the BBC, David Hughes is now a strong contender to land the Newport job and succeed Jardim, in what would be the 47-year-old's first ever management role in the English footballing pyramid, having previously managed Barry Town in the Welsh system.

Hughes had a relatively short playing career, which Aston Villa in 1996, but he only made seven Premier League appearances before departing in 1999.

He went on to play for Shrewsbury Town and Cardiff City, who paid Salop £450,000 for him in 2001, before injuries curtailed his playing career at the age of just 25 in 2003.

His post-playing career path has been extremely slow-burning. After coaching and managing Barry in the Welsh Premier League, he became the head of youth development at Shrewsbury Town and moved on to the likes of Southampton, Watford and Cardiff City.

Hughes joined Man United in 2022 and has been assisting Travis Binnion for the last two years, but he could now part ways with the Red Devils to forge his own path.

Newport County's underwhelming 2024/25 season means that change is needed at Rodney Parade

The 2024/25 season was a disappointing one for Newport County.

The team were comfortably in mid-table in League Two in the middle of February, but a run of just two wins from their last 16 League games saw them drop to a final position of 22nd, just one above the relegation places, although they were never in any danger of getting relegated themselves. It's now been four years since they finished above 11th place in League Two.

Newport have been members of the EFL since winning the National League play-offs against Wrexham in 2013, and last season's final league position equals the lowest that they've achieved since then, having also finished there in both 2016 and 2017.

In 2021, they finished fifth in the standings and reached the play-off final, losing 1-0 to Morecambe after extra-time. In the same season, they took Brighton & Hove Albion to a replay in the FA Cup Third Round before losing on penalty kicks.

Manager Nelson Jardim had arrived from the Portuguese club Maritimo's 'B' team in July 2024, but his position was terminated by mutual consent on April 24.

It does look as though Huw Jenkins could be going for an unproven first-team manager option once more if Hughes lands the role, and he will surely be hoping for help from Old Trafford and the under-21's team in terms of loan deals should he be appointed.