Shortly after Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi arrived at Newcastle, it was said that Luis Campos expressed an interest in becoming their new Director of Football.
The Portuguese transfer expert – known as “the wizard of capital gains” – was supposedly eager to be appointed, although the Magpies eventually decided to pinch Dan Ashworth from Brighton instead.
Campos joined Paris Saint-Germain not too long afterwards, but now, Chelsea are sniffing around.
What’s the story?
Well, some may argue that Newcastle might have made a mistake when ignoring Campos, as Todd Boehly has now sent the 57-year-old a lucrative offer to join him and Graham Potter at Stamford Bridge.
That is according to Le Parisien, who believe Chelsea’s American owner has offered the PSG Sporting Director a yearly salary of €8m (£7m) to join the Blues, as well as a budget of €300m (£260m) to work with in the transfer market.
On both accounts, that is a serious amount of money.
Campos experienced a busy summer in what was his first transfer window since joining PSG, working alongside Christophe Galtier to sign Renato Sanches, Carles Soler, Vitinha, Fabian Ruiz, Nordi Mukiele and Hugo Ekitike – who was wanted by Newcastle.
Usually, it is unlikely that someone would step down from their role so shortly after joining.
However, the chance to work on a fresh project alongside Potter, as Boehly looks to take Chelsea back to the summit of English football, could be too exciting to refuse for Campos.
Newcastle shouldn’t worry about Chelsea & Luis Campos
Of course, if Campos goes to Chelsea and develops a leading reputation among the Premier League, Newcastle fans may wonder if they hired the wrong man.
However, Ashworth has done a fine job since swapping the Seagulls for the Magpies.
The 51-year-old has managed to convince the likes of Alexander Isak and Sven Botman to join Newcastle, both of whom are among the best young talents in Europe.
Ashworth also knows the domestic market well, moving quickly to snap up an England international in Nick Pope for just £10m, while a player of Matt Targett’s experience for £15m was also a shrewd deal.
Whatever happens with Chelsea and Campos, Newcastle can be comfortable with their decision.
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