Dan Ashworth could be made to wait until November before taking up his role as Newcastle United sporting director.
The 51-year-old resigned as Brighton’s technical director in February - he has since been on gardening leave - and negotiations over his release to begin work at St James’ Park are continuing between the clubs.
However, unless there is significant progress, sources say a start date as late as November is looking likely.
That would leave chief scout Steve Nickson, co-owner Amanda Staveley and head coach Eddie Howe to oversee summer spending, as was the case in January.