Rafa Benitez has provided some interesting quotes for the Celtic hierarchy as they search for a replacement to Neil Lennon.
Whether the club appoints a manager before a Director of Football comes in is unclear with a further complication being the arrival on July 1 of Dom McKay as CEO.
Regardless of the process or system it would see that contacting Benitez is a win-win option with the Spaniard back with his family on Merseyside after he left a lucrative job in China before Christmas due to Lockdown and travel issues.
With Liverpool, Real Madrid, Napoli, Inter Milan and Chelsea on his CV the Spaniard would be a highly ambitious move for Celtic to undertake but in March 2016 Newcastle managed to talk him into moving to St James’ Park despite looking doomed in a relegation battle.
Included in their Celtic rolling blog the Daily Record reports Benitez saying:
I’ve had so many offers in recent weeks, from South America to the Emirates, but that’s not what I’m looking for. I want to stay in Europe and I want to do so to be competitive at a high level. I’m looking for a project that will allow me to be competitive and with time and space to grow.
Having glimpsed the high life under Brendan Rodgers there is an expectation among some Celtic fans that the club aims for a top flight manager rather than hope for the best with a project level appointment.
Since issuing a statement confirming the departure of Neil Lennon at 7am there has been no further comment from inside Celtic.
CLICK HERE for Benitez’s managerial record.
