Professor Ted Malloch - the man tipped to 'get the nod' as Trump's ambassador to the European Union - has stated that he believes that the euro "could collapse" within the next 18 months.

He told the BBC that he thinks it would be smart to "short the euro" - or bet that its value will fall.

"The one thing I would do in 2017 is short the euro ... I think it is a currency that is not only in demise but has a real problem and could in fact collapse in the coming year, year and a half," he told the British broadcaster.

"I am not the only person or economist of that point of view," he added - citing economist Joseph Stiglitz's 2016 book The Euro: How a Common Currency Threatens the Future of Europe.

Mr Malloch also advocates a clean break between the UK and the US - arguing that leaving the Single Market and Customs Union would allow the UK to create deals without the involvement of "the bureaucrats in Brussels."

He added that the EU trying to block the US and UK beginning talks on a trade deal would be "absurd" and like a man "trying to stop his wife having an affair."

The businessman also believes that the new US president could strike a trade deal during Mr Trump's first three months in office:

"There won't be a deal signed in the White House on Friday, but there could be an agreement for a framework going forward where people are empowered to have that kind of conversation behind closed doors and it could take as little as 90 days."