Joe Kinnear
Joe Kinnear during his reign as Newcastle United manager back in 2008. [Reuters]

Former Newcastle United managing director Derek Llambias may well have quit the club over a row with Joe Kinnear over the possible signing of FC Twente defender Douglas.

The Mirror reports that the Newcastle management team had wanted the Brazilian-born centre-back to arrive this summer after first attempting to land the defender some 12 months previous.

Manager Alan Pardew and chief scout Graham Carr were said to be keen to finally conclude a deal for Douglas as his contract with FC Twente had expired and he would be available on a free transfer.

However, reports claim that Kinnear was consulted about the deal after accepting a role as the new director of football and the former Toon manager subsequently claimed he had never heard of the defender.

It is believed that Kinnear did contact former Twente boss Steve McClaren to learn more about Douglas but decided that he should not be offered a contract by Newcastle.

Llambias had played an important role in helping push through transfers and it was reported that he had worked closely with Pardew on the deal for Douglas.

The 25 year old had won the league title during his spell at Twente, as well as playing in the Champions League and earning his first call up to the Holland squad back in October 2012.

Nevertheless it seems Kinnear has his own ideas as to who should be signed by Newcastle this summer and this forced Llambias to tell Douglas that the deal would now be withdrawn.

Just hours later a statement on the official Newcastle website revealed that Llambias was resigning from his role but there was no suggestion that Kinnear was the reason in his brief statement.

The Mirror now reports that there are fears that Carr may also hand in his resignation after being forced to report to Kinnear. The well respected scout has played a key role in recent seasons and has helped the club lure the likes of Yohan Cabaye, Papiss Cisse and Cheick Tiote to the club.

Pardew has released a statement declaring that he wants to remain at the club but has thus far remained tight lipped on the appointment of Kinnear.