Mark Hughes is on Newcastle United's radar and the Blackburn Rovers manager now appears to be rivalling Harry Redknapp as a contender for the vacancy created by Sam Allardyce's sacking on Wednesday.

While Redknapp, currently in charge of Portsmouth, remains the bookmakers' favourite, Newcastle's apparent interest in Hughes was described as "a sensitive subject" at Ewood Park yesterday where officials were fearing an approach from the Tyneside club.

By late afternoon, though, none was forthcoming at either Blackburn or Portsmouth, who released a statement on their website stressing that they had received no request for Redknapp's services and would not welcome one.

Although Portsmouth's manager also distanced himself from the St James' Park job, saying he had "heard nothing" and was "happy" at Fratton Park, it is understood that overtures have been made and Newcastle been informed they will have to pay at least €2 million in compensation to remove Redknapp from the South Coast.

The fear on Tyneside is that Redknapp, now 60 and never having managed north of London, may develop cold feet about the prospect of leaving his luxury Dorset home in order to try to breathe new life into Newcastle.

Equally there are concerns that he may use this interest from a rival club to persuade Portsmouth to offer him a more generous transfer window budget and possible salary hike.

Yesterday Redknapp played a resolutely straight bat and stressed: "I really do not know anything about this. I have not spoken to anyone from Newcastle.

"When I saw that Sam had left, my immediate thoughts were that Alan Shearer was a certainty to take over. There's nothing in my being linked with this job. I am happy down on the south coast."

With Shearer not under consideration as Newcastle's next manager and Everton ruling out the possibility that David Moyes might exchange Merseyside for Tyneside, it seems that Mike Ashley, Newcastle's owner, is pondering the relative merits of Redknapp and Hughes. Despite Martin Jol's apparent enthusiasm for the job the former Tottenham manager is not thought to be in contention.

Ashley is in Hong Kong on business and his absence may delay any appointment but he and Chris Mort, his chairman, are determined to hire a coach who, like Redknapp and Hughes, believes in attractive, passing football.

It yesterday emerged that Allardyce's refusal to embrace such purist principles prompted his dismissal. Allardyce departed with compensation reported to be worth €8.1 million and he was in magnanimous mood yesterday, reflecting: "There's no point being bitter and twisted about it because it will only affect you, not the people you have left behind."