Exclusive: Rafael Benitez wants to make his second coming at Newcastle United
Spaniard also keen on signing John Stones and Ross Barkley if he returns from Chinese Super League
By Matt Law, Football News Correspondent 24 May 2020 • 9:00pm
Rafael Benítez — Rafael Benitez ready to make his second coming at Newcastle United
Rafael Benítez was a hugely popular manager at Newcastle United, with both the players and fans Credit: GETTY IMAGES
Rafael Benítez is keen to make an emotional return to Newcastle United under a new Saudi Arabian-backed ownership with John Stones and Ross Barkley among the players the Spaniard would like to take with him.
The proposed £300 million takeover could be resolved this week, which will increase the speculation over the future of manager Steve Bruce and potential signings in the next transfer window.
Telegraph Sport has already reported that Bruce will be backed until at least the end of the season and given the opportunity to remain as manager beyond that, while no shortlists have been drawn up over possible replacements or big-money signings.
But it is understood that Benítez, currently manager of Dalian Professional in China, is interested in making a return under a new ownership in a move that would delight Newcastle fans.
Benítez was idolised by Newcastle supporters during his three years at the club before he left when his contract expired last summer. The main obstacle to a potential return would be the combined costs of his Dalian pay-off and salary.
Mauricio Pochettino has also been linked with the Newcastle job, but it is less clear whether or not he would accept an offer to succeed Bruce even though the Argentine has admitted he would like his next job to be in England.
Benítez would no doubt want assurances over receiving the sort of budget he would need to turn Newcastle into a team capable of challenging for European qualification and two players high on the 60-year-old’s wishlist would be former Everton pair Stones and Barkley.
Rafael Benítez — Rafael Benitez ready to make his second coming at Newcastle United
Newcastle supporters idolised Benítez when he was at St James' Park, in much the same way Valencia and Liverpool fans also did during his respective spells at Mestalla and Anfield Credit: GETTY IMAGES
Newcastle’s interest in the duo may not be reliant on Benítez returning, as Stones and Barkley would also no doubt be attractive to Bruce, Pochettino or any other potential manager.
Stones is likely to be allowed to leave Manchester City in the next transfer window and Benítez is a long-term admirer of the defender, having recommended him to Real Madrid in 2016.
Benítez had informed Madrid of the ability of Stones, then at Everton, before eventually losing his job at the Santiago Bernabéu to Zinedine Zidane and the Spanish club did not end up making a move.
Stones has lived up to some of the potential Benítez saw, excelling for England in the 2018 World Cup, but the 25-year-old has suffered a difficult season with form and injuries.
He has used the break in football to reassess his training and has insisted he feels in top shape ahead of the planned July restart.
But Stones faces a challenge to convince City manager Pep Guardiola that he can be relied upon as a first-choice defender moving forwards and sources believe the club will be open to offers for him.
Stones himself may need to carefully consider his future at the end of the season. With the European Championships postponed until next summer, he will know he cannot afford another stop-start campaign like the current one.
Arsenal have been linked with Stones, but Benítez would love to work with him and would back himself to rectify some of the defensive errors that his critics have pounced upon.
Ross Barkley produced two of his best performances in a Chelsea shirt, against Liverpool in the FA Cup and his old club Everton in the league, ahead of the suspension of the season.
But the midfielder could continue to face strong competition for his Blues place over the coming months with Ruben Loftus-Cheek set to return from injury after the restart.
Frank Lampard, the Chelsea head coach, has plenty of options in midfield and will know he will have to sell some players to help fund the kind of incoming business he would like to complete.
The final games of the season may be key to determining whether or not Lampard would consider an offer for Barkley, but like Stones, the 26-year-old will know that he needs to play regularly next season ahead of the Euros.
Benítez tried to sign Barkley for Liverpool after seeing him play for his school Broadgreen International in 2008, but the player was already committed to his boyhood club Everton.
It is also believed Benítez briefly looked into trying to join the chase to sign Barkley from Everton, when he was last in charge at Newcastle, but could not match the ambition or finances of Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, who were also interested at the time.
Like Stones, Barkley has realised some of his vast potential at different stages of his career and, at £15m, has proved to be a shrewd signing for Chelsea who they will certainly make a healthy profit on should they ever sell.
Other than Newcastle, West Ham United, whose manager David Moyes enquired about him in January, would be interested in Barkley.
