Reporter breaks Newcastle hearts with Rafa Benitez return comment

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For many fans, a Rafa Benitez return would be the dream Newcastle United appointment.

The Spaniard left the club in 2019 when his contract expired, tired of the shackles placed upon him and the Magpies by previous owner Mike Ashley.

There was always a belief that if new owners came in, Benitez could make the club special.

Had things gone differently, that could have been a reality. Sadly, the timing of the takeover hasn’t coincided with the 2005 Champions League winner’s availability.

If the takeover had happened in the summer, Benitez would have been available. It seems likely that he would have returned to the club.

But the deal didn’t happen, and Benitez secured his Premier League comeback with a shock move to Everton.

Just months later, the Newcastle takeover has been completed and the new Toon owners are looking for a manager to take the club forward.

All the while, the man they want is in a battle to win fans over at Goodison Park.

But could the 61-year-old still complete a remarkable return to St James’ Park? The Athletic’s George Caulkin doesn’t think so.

Rafa Benitez return is ‘not possible’

“The obvious ‘one size fits all’ candidate was Benitez, who know the club and has done all those things over the course of his career,” Caulkin told Pod On The Tyne.

“But we’re just told that’s not possible. He won’t leave Everton.”

As Caulkin alludes to, Benitez would be the perfect candidate. The club needs building. We need to escape the relegation zone. Then we need to try and get into the top half. Then we can think about challenging for Europe, and so on and so forth.

Benitez is capable of delivering those things. He knows the players, he knows the club, he knows the fans. And under this ownership he’d be able to do so much more than he did under Ashley.

He’s already popular with a lot of the current Toon players. In 2018, Matt Ritchie said Benitez was the ‘perfect man’ to lead the club to success.

But his move to Everton has scuppered any hope of the Spaniard returning. Or rather, the takeover delays have scuppered matters.

Instead, the new Toon owners will need to look elsewhere. The likes of Paulo Fonseca and Lucien Favre have been linked, but we currently seem nowhere near to appointing Steve Bruce’s replacement.

But one man it won’t be is Rafa Benitez, much to the disappointment of some fans.