Mikel Arteta and Patrick Vieira were warned about the Newcastle job by Rafael Benitez, according to the Sun.
The newspaper claim on their website that the two managerial candidates both ruled themselves out of the running for the vacancy after holding a phone call with Benitez.
The Sun reports that after two failed approaches for the former Premier League midfield duo, the Magpies will not be following up on their approach to Belgium head coach Roberto Martinez.
Instead, the club will now show an interest in Sheffield Wednesday manager Steve Bruce, who is an attractive prospect for the board who know that Newcastle is his boyhood club.
OPINION
It is no surprise that any managerial candidate would want to hear from Benitez after his contrasting three years at the club. Managing Newcastle is like no other club, especially under the ownership of Mike Ashley – an owner who is publically criticised daily. It was the former Champions League winner that put the two off, with the Spaniard criticising the board for the way they work at the club. If anyone was to know, it would be Benitez – who did manage to break the club’s transfer record while in charge, but that was pretty much all he was allowed to do. To move from candidates such as Vieira, Arteta, and Martinez, young managers who are definitely ready to bring new exciting ideas to the table, to Bruce, something isn’t quite right, with the Wednesday boss not fitting the category for what Ashley supposedly wants at the club. It would be a bad move for the club, and should more potential replacements continue to communicate with Rafa, this hunt could go on for a significant amount of extra time.
