Brand Republic reported two weeks ago that Wadley, the former Daily Mail deputy editor, was due to be axed and that the Observer editor Alton was understood to have had talks with Lord Rothermere.
Alton, we reported, had been approached about the job originally, but turned it down. Reports in the Sunday Express now suggest that Lord Rothermere has held fresh talks with Alton who has been offered a £300,000 deal.
It is reported that he is close to taking the job, once a number of contractual issues have been ironed out. Key among these is that he should not have to report to Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre, who is currently Wadley's boss.
Wadley has been editor of the paper for just over a year, during which time circulation has continued to fall and a large number of staff were replaced, including managing director Sally de la Bedoyere, who left after 15 years following disagreements with Wadley. She was replaced by morning freesheet Metro's Mike Anderson.
The latest ABC figures for September are set to reveal that the Evening Standard's circulation has fallen to 390,204, down 10% year on year.
Wadley was responsible for closing the Standard's six-year-old weekly listings magazine Hot Tickets and replacing it with Metrolife, an expensive move that has paid no dividends.
Wadley has also engaged in a political spat with London mayor Ken Livingstone and has been accused of relegating London issues in the paper, while her management style has proven unpopular among staff.
Alton, the former Guardian features editor, was appointed editor of The Observer in July 1998 to replace Will Hutton who, after two-and-a-half years in the editor's chair, became editor-in-chief of the Sunday newspaper.
Alton has been with Guardian Newspapers for 24 years and is well liked on the paper. During his time as editor, he has boosted circulation, which rose 5.76% last month to 488,718 and is up from around 440,000 last year. He has launched both the Observer Food Monthly and, prior to that, the Observer Sport Monthly as part of his efforts to increase the paper's sales.
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