Why Rodgers’ reported Leicester move might not actually help Newcastle

According to Sky Sports, Brendan Rodgers is in talks to become Leicester City manager.

The Foxes lost 4-1 to Crystal Palace on Saturday, and swiftly sacked Claude Puel the following morning.

Following Puel’s departure, the Times reported that Leicester had a two-man shortlist to replace the Frenchman.Those two men were Rodgers and Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez.

The Spaniard has been linked with the Foxes multiple times in recent years, and fans were right to worry.

Leicester would certainly be an appealing club. They have a young and exciting squad, with the potential for investment. They’re stable in the Premier League, unlike Newcastle.

But they’ve decided to move for Rodgers, stealing him away from Celtic. It seems like a good decision, as the former Liverpool boss has a reputation for nurturing young talent.

Some Newcastle fans will be relieved that the Benitez to Leicester rumours will go away, but is it all good news?

Immediate Rodgers decision takes leverage away from Rafa

Benitez’s contract situation is well-documented. His current deal ends this summer, and fans are obviously desperate for him to stay.

Benitez reportedly wants to stay, but needs certain conditions to be met by Mike Ashley and Lee Charnley.

Weirdly, Leicester’s interest in Benitez may have actually helped the Spaniard negotiate a new deal. It gave him leverage, a reason for Ashley to go all out to keep him with the risk of losing him to a Premier League rival.

But now that Leicester have acted sharply to bring in a new manager, that leverage has quickly disappeared.

Benitez needs to stay at Newcastle, but sadly he can’t lean on Leicester’s interest anymore to get what he wants at St James’ Park.

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