Craig Hope has revealed that Roberto Martinez is now ‘interested’ in becoming the next manager at Newcastle United.
The Lowdown: Jones in charge
It has now been reported that Graeme Jones will take charge of the next few games at St. James’ Park following the departure of Steve Bruce, possibly until the start of the next international break as the new owners continue their search for their next permanent coach.
Interestingly, Jones was Martinez’s assistant at Belgium, and so already knows the Spaniard very well.
The Latest: Martinez interest
As per Hope, Martinez is ‘in the frame’ for the job in the North East amid rumours involving Paulo Fonseca, and he is ‘interested’ in taking on the role.
The Daily Mail journalist has also revealed that it would cost less than £2m to buy out his current deal with the Belgium national team.
The Verdict: Wait for better
With the Tyneside club being linked with managers of the stature of Antonio Conte, they should wait for better candidates to fully become available before taking a punt on Martinez.
Lauded as a ‘world class’ boss by former Premier League manager Alex McLeish, he has certainly had good moments in his career, like his famous FA Cup win with Wigan Athletic and guiding Belgium to first place in the official FIFA World Rankings.
However, the Magpies currently find themselves in a relegation battle, and Martinez does not exactly have the best record for this, guiding the Latics down to the Championship in the same season that they won the cup.
Looking at the long-term, he has not won a major trophy with Belgium despite their ranking and golden generation of talent that includes the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard, and recorded bottom-half finishes in the top flight with Everton in his last two seasons with the Toffees (Transfermarkt).
Nonetheless, there are simply better candidates out there at this moment in time.
In other news, find out which ‘phenomenon’ is the ‘first name’ on NUFC’s list here!