Newcastle United are willing to pay the £2million compensation fee for Derby County boss Steve McClaren , Sportsmail understands . Senior sources within St James ’ Park are convinced that the former England manager will be their next head coach come the summer and say the £3.5m pocketed from Alan Pardew ’ s defection to Crystal Palace in January will cover the cost of his arrival . It is McClaren ’ s relationship with United ’ s chief scout Graham Carr – in essence , the club ’ s director of football – which is the driving force behind their move for the 53-year-old . Newcastle United are willing to pay the £2million compensation fee for Derby County boss Steve McClaren . Head coach John Carver looks set to be replaced come the end of the Premier League season . Carr has been tasked with finding the new boss should the Magpies decide to replace current head coach John Carver - and that is looking increasingly likely . Sources at Newcastle have indicated McClaren is the only name being considered and they feel there is a willingness on his part to swap Pride Park for St James ’ Park . McClaren ’ s camp deny this , instead insisting he is fully focussed on winning promotion to the Premier League with Derby . Derby boss McClaren has a good relationship with United ’ s chief scout Graham Carr ( pictured ) Despite a strong campaign , Derby are in danger of missing out on automatic promotion to the top flight . That , however , is to be expected given his promise to the club ’ s hierarchy that he would see out the season with the Rams when he was first linked with Newcastle in January . McClaren signed a new three-year deal in August and chief executive Sam Rush has again insisted this week that their manager is going nowhere . However , Derby are in danger of missing out on automatic promotion to the top flight and there is even a chance they could slip out of the play-off places . They announced losses of £7m this week , compared to the £18.7m profit recorded by Newcastle , who intend to invest heavily in their playing squad this summer . It is thought all of those factors will be enough for Carr to persuade McClaren to head to the North-East ahead of next season .
Newcastle have set sights on appointing Steve McClaren as next boss . McClaren would cost Newcastle United £2million in compensation . Sportsmail understands Magpies are willing to pay the fee . Derby County boss has good relationship with chief scout Graham Carr . CLICK HERE for all the latest Newcastle United news .