Following the decision to part ways with Steve Bruce, Newcastle United are looking for a new manager.
Free agent Paulo Fonseca appears to be the favourite for the role, with multiple outlets claiming talks are currently taking place between the two parties, but he isn’t the only one they reached out to.
Among the names that have circulated can be found Roberto Martinez, who is currently in charge of the Belgium national team and contracted to that role until December 2022.
Rumours suggested the Spaniard reached out to Newcastle about potentially taking the role, but AS in Spain refute that completely.
They even make a point of writing that ‘unlike what was published by some English media, it’s the English team that has stepped forward for Roberto Martinez and not the other way around’.
It’s pointed out the owners ‘know he is a coach who knows the Premier League and that he could grow the club up to what they expect’, which is exactly why ‘they have presented him with a long-term project’.
While his contract can be terminated early thanks to a ‘release clause for which any club could pay to take him’ (not exactly a problem for Newcastle), it’s more the ‘emotional’ side of things that make it difficult.
In taking the St James’ Park role, he would be ‘leaving Belgium in a ditch at a delicate moment and after the great work done, it doesn’t go in the style of the Spanish manager’.
That’s potentially why Paulo Fonseca has since been approached, perhaps seen as the ideal ‘interim’ by the owners until Martinez’s contract runs its course.
