Opinion: Takeover progress indicates that Benitez will stay

There is no reason for Rafa Benitez to leave if the takeover of Newcastle United is progressing well.

Newcastle United are a team in limbo. No one really knows what direction the club is heading in with executive officials remaining silent on the takeover process, and Rafa Benitez has not provided the slightest of hints to indicate what he will do at the end of this month. The Spaniard’s contract with Newcastle United expires on June 30th and the fact that an agreement has not been reached by now has given new life to rumors claiming that he will walk away.

Benitez has attracted attention from teams in Italy, Scotland and, most recently, received a £12M offer from a team in the Chinese Super League. While SkySports claim that Benitez is seriously considering the offer, I find it hard to believe that Benitez, who is always looking for a new challenge, would take a job in China for the sake of money.

Despite the fact that things are not looking good on Tyneside at the moment, I will stick my neck out and say that Benitez will sign a new contract with the Magpies. The main reason why I say this is because these takeover negotiations seem serious. A recent report indicates that things are progressing well with the takeover, which is now being analyzed and processed by the Premier League.

Why would Benitez accept a job elsewhere when Sheikh Khaled plans to come in and shake things up quite significantly, no pun intended. Mike Ashley does not have the money to compete with elite teams in the Premier League, but Sheikh Khaled certainly does. Until the takeover happens and until we see how much funding Sheikh Khaled will provide for transfers, I, nor anyone, can claim anything for certain.

However, this takeover does provide hope, generates optimism and opens the door for a new chapter at Newcastle United Football Club. This potential revival of the club will, in my opinion, entice Benitez to sign a new contract.

Also, being able to say that you took a club from the second tier of English football to regularly competing in continental tournaments would make him look good for the history books, just saying. We will find out what happens over the next 10 days, but my opinion is that Benitez will stay on as manager.