‘I just don’t see it’: Guillem Balague responds when asked about Pochettino to Newcastle

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Newcastle United’s takeover may bring a new manager.

Newcastle United’s long-awaited takeover is finally set to go through, and Steve Bruce’s future is likely to come into question as a result.

The Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund, Amanda Staveley and the Reuben brothers are set to join forces to purchase Newcastle, with a £300million deal imminent.

Mike Ashley’s time at the club is finally coming to an end, and with huge funds set to be at Newcastle’s disposal, fans are already thinking about potential signings.

Yet there’s also the matter of the manager; Steve Bruce maybe isn’t the big-name manager that the new owners will want in charge of their new project.

ESPN already report that there are four names on the wish list for Newcastle’s owners-to-be; Mauricio Pochettino, Rafael Benitez, Lucien Favre and Massimiliano Allegri.

Pochettino has been out of work since leaving Tottenham in November, whilst Benitez is in charge of Dalian Professional in China having walked away from Newcastle last summer.

Now, Spanish football expert Balague – who is close to Pochettino from his Espanyol days and even wrote a book on him – has suggested that he doesn’t think Pochettino will be interested in the Newcastle job right now.

Balague thinks Pochettino is in a strong position to wait for openings at Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain or Real Madrid, so jumping to Newcastle now doesn’t make sense, whilst he also claims that Benitez has had no contact.

“I don’t think so,” said Balague. “I think Pochettino is in a position where he doesn’t have to rush his next step. As I’ve said already, I think it will be very difficult for him to get a job now, as everybody is staying with what they’ve got, it’s not a time for big changes, but something will appear. It could be Manchester City after Pep Guardiola leaves, it could be PSG after Tuchel leaves, it could be Real Madrid after Zidane leaves, and why rush a decision now?”

“Newcastle, I just don’t see it. It will be interesting to see what approach the new owners have got for Newcastle, in terms of style, in terms of money to spend in the market. Yes, the rumour that has reached agents is that there will be money available straight away, so they will be at the forefront of interesting signings, it’s just who’s going to go to Newcastle right now? I think the first decision will be to get a manager that can link all that. By the way, I heard that Rafa Benitez has not heard anything from the new owners, so he’s miles away from what’s happening right now,” he added.