In October 2021, Paulo Fonseca was one of the frontrunners to become Newcastle United manager.
The Magpies were in a state of transition following the out of the blue takeover. Steve Bruce was relieved of his duties, and the new Toon owners began the search for a replacement.
Early reports seemed to suggest that Fonseca was going to be the man they went with. He certainly got the approval of fans, who were excited about the prospect of him calling the shots at St James’ Park.
By November 8th, Amanda Staveley and co finally got their man. But it wasn’t Fonseca.
Instead, they went with Eddie Howe after failling to poach Unai Emery from Villarreal. The snub from the Spaniard was embarrassing, but it has worked out in the end.
Howe has got Newcastle flying, and fans are buzzing to see what he can achieve this upcoming season.
As for Fonseca, he’s finally got himself a new job after missing out on the Toon gig.
Paulo Fonseca joins Lille
After more than a year without a club, Fonseca has finally got a new role. He’s been appointed as the new manager of Lille, replacing Jocelyn Gourvennec.
He has signed a two-year deal with the Ligue 1 side, meaning he is no longer unemployed and the endless links of coming to the Premier League should end.
Around the time he was rumoured to be in contention for the Newcastle job, he was also linked with Tottenham and Aston Villa.
Fonseca has been linked with every Premier League job possible over the past 12 months, but is now heading to France.
He takes over a Lille side that won the title in 2021, but he won’t be able to rely on Sven Botman. That’s because the defender is joining Howe’s Newcastle side.
In an alternative universe, Fonseca would be our manager right now. Would he have been a good appointment? Who knows, but Newcastle certainly didn’t make a mistake going with Howe.
Fonseca believes he was ‘very close‘ to becoming Newcastle boss, while Guillem Balague claimed that he thought he was going to be the chosen one.
That didn’t happen, and Newcastle are flying high with steady Eddie.
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