Rafa Benitez arrives at St James' Park ahead of Newcastle v Chelsea
Rafa Benitez arrives at St James' Park ahead of Newcastle v Chelsea

Newcastle takeover: Rafa Benitez favourite to be next manager while Max Allegri odds tumble to replace Steve Bruce


Rafa Benitez is the bookmakers favourite to make an incredible return to Newcastle as manager as the proposed takeover of the club has seen Steve Bruce’s go odds-on to not be in charge come the start of next season.

Mike Ashley’s 13-year spell as owners looks to finally be coming to an end as a £300m takeover from Amanda Staveley's PCP Capital Partners, backed by the vast wealth of the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, looks to be on course.

The possibility of new wealthy owners is causing almost as much excitement among Newcastle fans as the prospect of finally getting rid of Ashley – who has been slated for years for his lack of investment in the club.

With some huge investment now a real possibility, it seems highly unlikely that Bruce would retain his position as manager, and already big names are being lined up as possible replacements.

The favourite, though, is Benitez, who became a hero on Tyneside after getting the Magpies back into the Premier League before earning 10th and 13th-placed finishes on limited resources and despite the animosity around the club between the fans and the owner.

Rafael Benitez wrote an open letter to the club's fans
Rafael Benitez wrote an open letter to Newcastle fans when he left

Benitez reportedly earns around £12m a year managing Chinese side Dalian Yifang, but he’s already stated his desire to return to the Premier League and the combination of a hero’s reception and a sizeable transfer fund would be enough to persuade him to come back to St James’ Park.

Former Juventus boss Max Allegri has also seen some support in the market with the odds of the six-time Serie A champion taking a big cut as the takeover talk mounts.

What is for certain, is that if the takeover does go through, the new owners will want to make an immediate statement and that’s most likely to be in the form of a big-name manager.

Regardless, the takeover would surely lead to Newcastle being elevated into a side more likely to challenge for European places than battling relegation.

Sky Sports’ Gary Neville says it’d be a great thing for the Premier League to have Newcastle, and in particular St James’ Park, bouncing again.

"What we'd all like to see is a thriving Newcastle United in the sense that over the last 10 or 15 years, the sway of investment has seemed to move south into clubs with the emergence of the likes of Bournemouth and Brighton,” Neville told the Football Show on Sky Sports.

“There's been more investment there and less on clubs in the North East.

"If we can get a really strong Newcastle where that ground is bouncing again, then all of us will be happy because it's one of the great spectacles that I can remember from my early Premier League appearances.

“It was an amazing place to play football, but it's not been like that for a good few years now."

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