Sheffield Wednesday boss Steve Bruce appears to be on the verge of taking over at Newcastle, with reports suggesting a deal could be finalised by the weekend.

The experienced former Aston Villa chief only took over at Hillsborough earlier this year and he had made an immediate impact, with the Owls having a late surge that saw them challenge for a top six finish.

Therefore, many fans were looking forward to what next season could bring but it appears they could be on the lookout for a new manager with the Telegraph revealing that Bruce is close to succeeding Rafa Benitez at the club he supported as a boy.

Obviously, it's bad news for Wednesday and here we look at THREE consequences this deal will have on the Championship side...

It could hinder their transfer plans

The Owls have already been active in the transfer market and there's no doubt that Bruce would have had a whole list of players he wanted to bring to the club in the coming weeks.

So, if he did depart it would leave them in an awkward position. The next man in charge may want different players and with less than a month to go before the window shuts they may miss out on potential targets.

It's a very bad situation to be in at this stage of pre-season.

They have little time to find a replacement

The biggest problem is going to be finding a replacement.

Given the way this can disrupt sides preparation, it's going to be hard for Wednesday to poach another manager who is currently in work.

As well as that, the window closing and the new season starting in early August means that they don't have too much time to find a replacement. They will need to sort something extremely quickly.

Could bring a negative atmosphere back to the club

As mentioned, there was a lot of hope and optimism going into the new season after the work Bruce has done in the past few months.

He managed to unite the fan base quickly and many felt that the Owls had a real shot at winning promotion next season.

However, once this is confirmed it will seriously impact the atmosphere around Hillsborough. The fans will feel let down by Bruce and they won't necessarily trust the owner to make the right appointment next time around.