Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez was allegedly wanted by Leicester City.
According to The Chronicle, Leicester City wanted Newcastle United boss Rafael Benitez to quit mid-season in order to become their new manager – but he refused.
The Magpies have been in decent form in 2019, and that – coupled with the big-money signing of playmaker Miguel Almiron in January – mean Benitez may be more likely than ever to stay put.
Benitez’s contract at St James’ Park expires this summer, and whilst there has been no progress on a new deal, there are renewed hopes around the club that the Spaniard will commit his future to Newcastle once again.
Intriguingly, The Chronicle report that Benitez recently had the chance to leave Newcastle, but wasn’t prepared to leave the Magpies in the lurch before the end of the season.
It’s claimed that Leicester City wanted Benitez to replace Claude Puel last month, but wanted Benitez to quit Newcastle mid-season and head to the King Power Stadium.
Brendan Rodgers ended up taking that approach, leaving Celtic to make a move to Leicester happen, but Benitez hasn’t broken a contract in his career, and wasn’t about to start now.
With more money and arguably a better team, Leicester would have surely been an enticing proposition, and yet Benitez wasn’t interested.
That bodes incredibly well for Newcastle’s hopes of keeping Benitez beyond the end of the season, with fans now desperate for concrete news in the coming weeks.
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