FORMER Celtic defender and Wigan Athletic manager Gary Caldwell is understood to be on the verge of joining Manchester City as the club's loan team coach.

The 39-year-old was last week linked with replacing Keith Curle as head coach at Oldham Athletic after his brief stint as interim Under 23s coach at Newcastle United came to an end.

However, those rumours were wide of the mark, with The Oldham Times last week reporting there had not been any contact.

With Boundary Park not Caldwell's next destination, he appears instead to be heading for the Etihad Stadium, according to reports.

Caldwell only stepped into the Newcastle role after Chris Hogg's departure to join MK Dons as assistant boss on August 16.

The former Scotland internationals's stint with his first club was never intended to be long term, and it is understood he is about to embark on a new role with Pep Guardiola's Premier League champions.

After leaving Newcastle last week, Caldwell tweeted: “Enjoyed immensely being back on the grass coaching at the club that gave me my start in football. Thank you to all the players and staff for making me feel so welcome.

“Wish you and all the Newcastle fans the best of luck for the rest of the season. A fantastic football club. Looking forward now to my next challenge in the game which I will announce in the next few weeks.”