Harry Redknapp failed to hold his weekly press conference at Portsmouth on Friday.
This development came after rumours on Friday morning indicated he was to be approached by Newcastle, who are looking for a new manager having parted company with Sam Allardyce on Wednesday.
Redknapp is the odds-on favourite to take over at St James' Park with the bookmakers but in an article in The News in Portsmouth, the 60-year claimed there had been no contact from the Magpies.
However, events on the South Coast on Friday afternoon took a twist when he left the club's training ground and drove off much earlier than planned while the weekly media briefing ahead of their weekend clash with Sunderland was also cancelled.