Speaking on the Gallowgate Shots YouTube channel, Graeme Bailey has claimed that Paulo Fonseca wants to become the Newcastle United manager.
The inevitable news broke on Wednesday morning that Steve Bruce had left his role as manager of Newcastle by mutual consent after managing his 1,000th game in football, which was also the sixth defeat he oversaw as Magpies boss this season.
Will Fonseca replace Bruce?
Yes!
No!
Now that Bruce has officially left Newcastle, reports have intensified over who will replace him, with former Roma boss Fonseca seen as a contender by Sky Sports – with the Portuguese boss currently out of work having been replaced by Jose Mourinho at the end of last season.
Speaking prior to Bruce’s dismissal, Bailey claimed that Fonseca certainly wants the newly vacated managerial position at Newcastle.
“He’s only 48, and he turned down Palace as well, so this is a guy who’s been held in very high regard this summer. For me, I think he ticks all the boxes in my personal opinion, I think he’s the big name. I know he’s diligent, he’s done his homework on Newcastle, he really wants this job.
“And at 48, I think he’s the ideal age as well, and the fact that he’s been at Roma and Shakhtar and Porto – he’s handled these big names, he’s got the contacts, which again, I do worry about if in January you’re going for some big-name foreign players in January, will they know who Eddie Howe is? Well, they will know Paulo Fonseca with his contacts.”
TIF Thoughts on Fonseca…
If Fonseca is to be the man that will replace Bruce at Newcastle, something that has been highlighted by Tifo Football in the past is that during his time at Roma he made his defenders more comfortable on the ball – which is something that Newcastle fans have not been accustomed to seeing at St. James’ Park.
Statistics show that the centre-backs rank nowhere near the top in terms of short passes, but are significantly higher when it comes to longer passes, suggesting that they are more used to launching it long than keeping it at their feet.
Something else that will surely excite Newcastle fans is that The Athletic’s James Horncastle claimed that Roma were one of the league’s entertainers during Fonseca’s tenure there and that word – entertainers – will bring back fond memories to Newcastle fans who experienced the Kevin Keegan era.
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