Newcastle will have to pay Tottenham £12.5million if they want to appoint Mauricio Pochettino as manager this month.
The manager was sacked in November and was paid the same fee in compensation but part of the agreement means any club wishing to employ him within six months would have to repay Spurs that amount.
Sources told ESPN that the agreement expires at the end of this month which would allow the Magpies to appoint the Argentinian in-time for a proposed resumption of Premier League matches in mid-June.
Newcastle are on the verge of completing a £300million takeover led by a consortium backed by money from Saudi Arabia's public investment fund and there are reports new owners are looking for a big name manager to replace Steve Bruce.