Steve Cooper is the new Nottingham Forest boss, but he could have been at Newcastle had things gone differently.
The 41-year-old replaces Chris Hughton at the City Ground, who lost his job last week after an appalling start to the Championship season.
Now Cooper will take his place – the Welshman who left Swansea this summer after losing in the playoff final to Brentford.
He’s an incredibly exciting coach, and was the England Under-17s boss when they won the World Cup back in 2017.
Now he’s set to get started with his second Championship club, but things could have been very different if Amanda Staveley bought Newcastle in 2019.
Could Steve Cooper have joined Newcastle?
According to the Sunday Mirror (via HITC) last year (02/08/2020, p66), Staveley wanted to hire Cooper if she had managed to buy Newcastle in 2019.
However, he wasn’t going to become first-team manager. Instead, she reportedly wanted him to take charge of the Under-23 side.
Alas, Staveley was unable to buy the club, and Cooper went on to become Swansea manager. He enjoyed two impressive years in Wales before walking out this summer. Now Forest fans will be looking forward to seeing what he can do in the East Midlands.
While Cooper was impressing at the Liberty, Staveley continued her efforts to buy Newcastle, but to no avail.
She agreed a price with Mike Ashley last year, but was unable to complete a deal due to the Premier League’s Owners’ and Directors’ test.
Now the fate of the takeover potentially lies in the courts.
If Staveley does ever become Newcastle owner, she’ll struggle to sign Cooper for the role she wanted in 2019, such is his reputation two years on.