MARK HUGHES has reached an informal agreement that will see him become the new manager of Blackburn Rovers next week, initially on a part-time basis. The former Manchester United forward has spent the past seven days agonising over whether to abandon his post as Wales manager to pursue his ambitions at club level, but he is now understood to have settled on a compromise that would see him continue in both roles until the Football Association of Wales (FAW) has found a suitable successor.

Dennis Roach, Hughes’s agent, confirmed yesterday that his client “would be interested” in the vacancy that arose at Ewood Park when Graeme Souness left last week to take charge of Newcastle United. It later emerged, however, that a deal has been all but finalised and that Hughes is ready to take charge officially after Blackburn have played Portsmouth in the Barclays Premiership on Saturday. Mark Bowen, a member of the Wales coaching staff, will be his assistant manager, while Eddie Niedzwiecki, another Wales coach, could also follow him to Blackburn.

Confirmation of Hughes’s departure will come as a blow to Wales as they prepare for their World Cup qualifying matches away to England at Old Trafford on October 9 and at home to Poland four days later. Although he and his staff are set to remain in place for those games — and for as long as both club and country allow — the FAW recognises that combining two such high-profile jobs is not viable in the long term. It will soon start the search for a successor, with Ian Rush, who recently took his first management job with Chester City, among the prime contenders.

Hughes, a fiercely patriotic Welshman, was initially reluctant to consider the Blackburn job, particularly with the eagerly anticipated match against England on the horizon. It was partly the prospect of taking on England and Northern Ireland in group six that persuaded Hughes to stay on after the heartbreaking defeat by Russia in the European Championship play-offs last November, but, with Wales having opened their campaign with disappointing draws against Azerbaijan and Northern Ireland, his desire to achieve something at international level has had to be tempered by a dose of realism.

The Blackburn job was always going to be tempting for Hughes, who is eager to show that his success on the international stage can be repeated at club level. “Mark has a contract with Wales which he totally respects, but it’s always been his ambition to manage in the Premiership,” Roach said. “Blackburn is the kind of job he would be interested in. He had two great years there as a player, so it’s a club which is close to his heart.”

Sources at the FAW indicated last night that they had not yet received an official approach but that privately they were resigned to Hughes’s departure.