Victor Orta could opt to head to Newcastle United and become their new director of football thanks to the "exciting project" at St James' Park, according to Premier League cult hero Carlton Palmer.

The Magpies underwent a £305million takeover in October and the consortium, led by the Saudi Arabia-based Public Investment Fund, have been looking to appoint a director of football since.

What's the latest news involving Orta?

Orta has reportedly been discussed as a potential candidate for the director of football position by Newcastle and, if he were to be appointed, he would be in charge of a large budget due to the Tynesiders becoming the richest club in world football following their injection of cash.

The Spaniard has been a key member of the Leeds United hierarchy since taking over as the Yorkshire club's equivalent in May 2017.

But former Leeds goalkeeper Paul Robinson believes Orta would be tempted by the challenge and there is a possibility of him swapping Elland Road for St James' Park.

Orta hit the headlines when he clashed with a Leeds fan during the stalemate against Brentford earlier this month, with him having to be held back in the directors' box.

Prior to heading to Leeds, Orta had also gained experience working behind the scenes at Sevilla, Zenit Saint-Petersburg, Elche and Middlesbrough.

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What has Carlton Palmer said about Orta?

Palmer, who made more than 100 appearances for Leeds during his playing career, believes Orta could be persuaded to switch to Newcastle.

He told GIVEMESPORT: "There's a lot of speculation and there will be a lot of speculation around Newcastle with the transfer window around the corner. There will be a lot of speculation about people moving to Newcastle in all different capacities.

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"Obviously, you know that there's going to be a huge amount of money to spend at Newcastle and it's going to be a massive project there.

"Orta has been very shrewd in the signings that Leeds United have made. He is very adept to dealing with the Premier League or the Championship, so it doesn't matter what division Newcastle will find themselves in.

"It would be an exciting project and Newcastle will have plenty of money."

Who else has been linked with the director of football position?

Michael Emenalo was thought to be the leading candidate for the vacancy as recently as last month, but The Telegraph later claimed that the 56-year-old rejected the role.

The report led to Newcastle co-owner Mehrdad Ghodoussi taking to social media and insisting Emenalo was never offered the job.

Luis Campos is understood to be on Newcastle's list of candidates, while Ralf Rangnick was also a contender before he was appointed as Manchester United's interim manager last month.

According to The Athletic journalist David Ornstein, Marc Overmars ruled himself out of contention for the director of football position after turning down an approach from the Magpies in favour of remaining with Dutch giants Ajax.