Newcastle-linked Gennaro Gattuso is a free agent again after leaving Fiorentina. Incredibly, he only managed 23 days at the Serie A club.
The Italian manager was reportedly a target for Newcastle back in May.
Calciomercato claimed that the Magpies were ready to change managers, and replace Steve Bruce with Gattuso.
They also stated that Wolves were keen, with Gattuso’s agent Jorge Mendes having strong links at Molineux.
Some Toon fans were excited by the prospect of Gattuso taking over. However, the rumours did seem a bit farfetched.
More than a month on and Bruce is still Toon boss, while Wolves have appointed Bruno Lage.
As for Gattuso, he’s had a wild time since Newcastle’s reported interest emerged.
What has happened to Gennaro Gattuso since those Newcastle links?
At the time he was Napoli manager. However, he was relieved of his duties there on May 23rd. That was the final day of the Serie A season, where Napoli threw away a top four finish and handed Juventus a route into the Champions League.
Two days later and Gattuso already had himself another job. The 43-year-old was appointed as Fiorentina head coach on May 25th.
23 days later and he’s gone. In a statement, Fiorentina said: “ACF Fiorentina and Mister Rino Gattuso, by mutual agreement, have decided not to follow up on the previous agreements and therefore not to start the next sporting season together.”
According to Sky Sports, Gattuso has left because of a disagreement over transfers.
They report that Fiorentina wanted more affordable players compared to the ones proposed by Gattuso’s agent Mendes.
If that’s the reason he has left Fiorentina, then he would have had an even shorter tenure at St James’ Park.
Unless there was a takeover, it sounds like Gattuso working under Mike Ashley would have been a recipe for disaster.
Receive a digest of our best Newcastle content each week direct to your mailbox
