Late last night, the Sun reported that Rafa Benitez would be offered the Newcastle United job should Amanda Staveley’s Saudi Arabia-backed consortium complete a deal with Mike Ashley.
It’s an easy to story to make up for clicks and quite possibly a case of the Sun putting 2 and 2 together and making 5, but the Northern Echo’s Scott Wilson has since revealed what Benitez would “jump at the chance” to return to St James’ Park under new ownership – despite saying he is committed to his ‘project’ with Chinese side Dalian Yifang.
They also report that he’s ‘close’ to Staveley – with it suggested he was a big part of her plans during a failed attempt to buy the club two years ago.
Scott Wilson:
‘If a successful takeover goes through, it has been suggested their first move could be to remove head coach Steve Bruce and reinstall Rafael Benitez, whose tenure as Newcastle manager ended last summer.
‘Benitez is known to be close to Staveley, and while the Spaniard has publicly insisted he remains committed to his current role as manager of Chinese side Dalian Yifang, he would jump at the chance of a return to St James’ Park under new ownership.‘