Newcastle United have been linked with one of Rafa Benitez’s former star players.
All eyes are on Newcastle United right now as their takeover edges closer to completion.
Manager Steve Bruce fears for his future, report The Telegraph. One man Newcastle United fans would love to see back is former boss Rafa Benitez.
One transfer report yesterday offered an intriguing sign that a Benitez return might be possible.
ESPN reported Newcastle have enquired with the agent of Dries Mertens over a move for the Belgian.
Mertens is a free agent at the end of the season and has not yet committed his future to Napoli.
Rafa Benitez was the manager who convinced Mertens to join Napoli in the first place, from PSV Eindhoven back in 2013, becoming the Spaniard’s first signing at the club.
Mertens told Napoli Today: “Here I was wanted by Benitez and this gives me a lot of confidence.”
Benitez told Goal in 2014: “I know Dries very well, I know perfectly what he can do here in Italy, he is learning to perform proficiently in his mission in the defensive phase.
“He is an exemplary professional who still can improve and give us even more of the many things that he is already giving us.”
Mertens has gone onto score 121 goals for Napoli, including 12 this past season.
Now as he weighs up a new chapter in his career, a reunion with Benitez would appeal.
This could be a coincidence, it could be a plan to get Mertens and try and use that to tempt Benitez back, or it could be a co-ordinated plan with Benitez directing the club in transfer targets.
A lot will become clearer in the coming weeks and months.
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