OPINION
Things are still up in the air with regards to Rafa Benitez’s contract situation at Newcastle United.
The Spaniard hasn’t put pen to paper, the fans still want him to, and the agonising wait for any kind of break in the tension continues to rumble on.
Hopefully, he will eventually commit his future to the club, but in the meantime, it is only natural that rumours continue to spring up about potential contingency plans should anything go awry during the negotiation process.
One name that has been linked, according to L’Equipe, is Bruno Genesio, the Lyon manager.
The Frenchman has admitted that he will leave the Ligue 1 club in the summer, as reported by ESPN, and chatter has started about him potentially rocking up on Tyneside should Benitez make a bolt for it.
That rumour has seemingly been quashed, however, by Le 10 Sport, and Newcastle fans should be delighted.
Obviously, talk is talk and actions are an entirely different ball game, but persistent suggestions that a manager is being linked with a club, especially while the current boss drags his heels so blatantly over signing a new deal, is always a surefire way of making fans nervy.
The Toon Army should rest easy, therefore, knowing that Genesio isn’t in the frame.
Does that mean that Benitez is definitely going to stay? Of course not, but it does at least increase the likelihood by ruling one of his most likely successors out of the running.
Until it is confirmed, however, all the Magpies can do is cross their fingers and hope for the best.
