Newcastle United face a battle for Didier Deschamps.

The former Juventus and Monaco boss was strongly fancied to replace Sam Allardyce at St James' Park in January before Kevin Keegan's shock return to the club.

And although he is currently out of work, the Newcastle Evening Chronicle claims its sources in France believe he could be in line for the French national team job in the near future.

A source close to Deschamps told the paper: "It's no secret that Didier was close to Dennis Wise during his time at Chelsea.

"And he was certainly interested in the job back in January before Keegan came in.

"The problem is that everybody thinks that he will be the next national team manager, very soon."

Current France boss Raymond Domenech is under increasing pressure, and his team face a crucial World Cup qualifier against Serbia on Wednesday night.