Newcastle urged to appoint 5-time title winner who once had beef with Rafa Benitez

Follow us on Google Discover

Michael Chopra has claimed on Twitter that Antonio Conte would be the perfect manager for Newcastle United to hire, after the takeover was confirmed this afternoon.

It was been widely reported on Thursday that Saudi PIF were on the brink of completing a takeover of the St James’s Park club.

And the Premier League has finally confirmed it.

This has been a long time in the making and Newcastle fans’ hearts were smashed last year when it looked imminent, only for the plug to be pulled at the last minute.

But on this occasion, it’s a done deal.

Now the big questions will be centering around whether Steve Bruce has a long-term future at St James’s Park.

The veteran English manager already divides opinion among fans of the North-East club but new ownership could also mean changes in the dugout.

And Michael Chopra believes Conte – who has won five league titles during his career, including one at Chelsea in 2017 – is the ‘right choice’ to replace Bruce.

Possible?

It’s possible for sure, but it isn’t very likely.

Even though Conte is available right now, this a very long-term project at Newcastle and we know that one of the reasons why he rejected Tottenham this past summer was due to how far away the North Londoners were in terms of being ready to win the Premier League.

Even with the potential for huge investment, Conte might not fancy St James’s Park for the same reason.

Handbags

But how the United fans would love to have the Italian coach on board, even though he has previously had beef with Rafael Benitez, a revered figure in the North East.

Conte and Benitez were rivals during their stints at Juventus and Napoli respectively, with the Spaniard subtly accusing his Italian counterpart of buying success in Turin, with the 52-year-old responding at the time: “We were facing a squad which has spent more than 100 million euros and which was built to win, not to take part.”

Two weeks later, when Conte was asked whether he’d seek Benitez’s advice ahead of meeting Benfica in a Europa League semi-final, he said: “I don’t think so, given their previous results against Portuguese teams. Napoli were eliminated by FC Porto. So I would prefer not to [ask his advice]. I’ll be trusting my own connections.”

It’s all a bit handbags between the pair, but one thing nobody – even Benitez – can deny is that Conte is a world-class coach and if Newcastle could hire him, it would add to what is already going to be such an exciting new era.