Premier League: Former Chelsea manager interested in replacing Rafael Benitez at Newcastle United
What's the story?
Former Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri has expressed interest in being the next manager of Newcastle United. Recently, Rafa Benitez resigned from his position, when he failed to agree to a new contract with the Newcastle United board.
In case you didn't know
Newcastle United confirmed that the Spanish manager will leave the club when his contract expires on the 30th of June. After being sacked by Fulham, Ranieri did a decent job as a caretaker manager of Roma in the back end of the 2018/19 season.
Heart of the matter
The Italian manager is currently out of job, and if Sky Sports are to believed, Newcastle can be the next destination for him. Ranieri has been a journeyman throughout his managerial career and he has managed three Premier League clubs in the post. The 'tinkerman' has managed Chelsea, Leicester City, and Fulham in the Premier League.
The highest point of his career came when he won the Premier League with Leicester in 2016. His experience of managing in the league might put ahead in the race to be the next manager of Newcastle United.
Along with Ranieri, Giovanni van Bronckhorst has also been linked with the job. Bronckhorst recently vacated his position at Feyenoord after four seasons at the Dutch club. His spell was a success, as he led the club to its first league title in 18 years in 2017.
The former Dutch midfielder who had also represented Barcelona and Arsenal has also expressed his desire to managed the club.
Newcastle United seemed to be stable under Rafa Benitez, so they were hoping that he would sign a new contract. Now the club does not have a plan in place to find a new manager.
What's next?
Newcastle United has handed over the responsibility of compiling shortlist of potential candidates to Lee Charnley, who is the managing director of the club. It would be interesting to see who is appointed for the job.