Jose Mourinho has been paired with the vacant Newcastle United job after it was announced on Monday that Rafa Benitez wouldn’t be renewing his deal.
The Portuguese tactician has been out of management since leaving Man Utd in December, as he has evidently enjoyed taking his time to assess his options while doing plenty of punditry work.
Nevertheless, given his track record and trophy haul as well as the desire to perhaps silence some detractors after the way in which his tenure at Old Trafford ended, he’ll be itching for the right project to present itself to return to the game.
As noted in the tweet below, a position is now open at Newcastle after the Magpies failed to reach an agreement on a contract renewal with Benitez, with his current deal set to expire at the end of the month.
According to SportMediaset, Mourinho is named as a possible successor to the Spaniard, and it’s even noted that he could take former Inter star Marco Materazzi with him to form part of his backroom staff.
However the report notes that there is one crucial factor which will determine whether or not he is sounded out as a possible option, as it’s likely only to materialise if Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nehayan completes his touted takeover of the club.
Until that deal is done, it’s highly unlikely that Mourinho will step in, as ultimately he’ll want to join a club capable of spending big and competing for major honours moving forward. He’d certainly want to stamp his mark on the Newcastle squad with a big budget, and so it will seemingly hinge on whether or not the takeover goes through as Newcastle fans wait for news.
It is with disappointment that we announce manager Rafael Benítez will leave Newcastle United upon the expiry of his contract on 30th June 2019.
Full club statement: https://t.co/IscVOvLxGD #NUFC pic.twitter.com/DWeBkpRubP
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) June 24, 2019
