Celtic would no doubt love to lure Rafael Benitez to Parkhead.
Pundit Davie Provan has told The Scottish Sun that he would ‘give his right arm’ to see Newcastle United boss Rafael Benitez at Celtic.
Celtic lost manager Brendan Rodgers to Leicester City in February after nearly three years in the job, in which he had won a remarkable double treble.
Ex-manager Neil Lennon returned to the club as interim boss until the end of the season, and he has kept the Celtic ship chugging along towards another league title.
Lennon’s style of play hasn’t exactly earned rave reviews, and whilst he’s in the box seat for the job, Celtic would be foolish not to consider other options too.
Roberto Martinez and Andre Villas-Boas have both ruled themselves out, but some Celtic fans have grand dreams of Newcastle boss Benitez making a shock move to Parkhead.
The Spaniard is out of contract at Newcastle this summer, and a club may well be able to prise him away from St James’ Park with the right offer this summer, given how he is in a constant battle for resources at Newcastle.
Now, pundit and ex-Celtic winger Provan has admitted that he would give his right arm to see Benitez at Celtic, believing he’s in a different bracket entirely to Lennon, given his track record and how he takes on directors in search of backing.
Provan knows that it’s unlikely that Benitez would give Glasgow a second glance given his glittering career, but believes Dermot Desmond can pay Benitez what he needs if he wanted to, but needs to show ambition to land a top coach.
“I’d give my right arm to see the Spaniard succeed Brendan Rodgers,” said Provan. “No disrespect to Neil Lennon, but Benitez is in a different bracket. A Rafa appointment would be like throwing a fox into a hen hut. Benitez doesn’t defer to directors, he makes his demands and expects them to be met. For the last three years, he’s had Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley up against the wall demanding better players. During that time he’s played the Geordie faithful like a fiddle. Benitez could torch the local hospital and still have Magpie punters eating out of his hand.”
“You can’t argue with the record of this double-wide Spaniard. In three different countries, he’s won the Champions League, Uefa Cup, Europa League, FA Cup and Coppa Italia. Makes you wonder why he’d give Glasgow a second glance. And if he claimed serious clubs like Valencia and Liverpool couldn’t match his ambition, what chance of him getting on with Lawwell and Co? Dermot Desmond could pay Rafa the going rate for England’s Premier League. He proved that when luring Rodgers to Scotland. But unless you match that ambition when signing players, you’re wasting your time,” he added.
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