Paul Fonseca was a target for Newcastle United prospective new owners, according to The Daily Mail.
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With the Portuguese closing in a move to Tottenham, the report reveals the club had lined him up as a potential option to replace Steve Bruce were the Saudi Arabian investors allowed to buy the club from Mike Ashley.
Indeed, the former Roma chief is the latest to have been linked with the job in that event. Rafa Benitez was recently claimed by Football Insider to remain a target should Ashley win his appeal to let the deal go through, while Mauricio Pochettino was strongly linked at the time.
Sadly, for the many supporters who seem to want Bruce out, none of them appear to be interested in the Newcastle job under this regime.
Who is Paulo Fonseca?
The 48-year-old took charge of Shakthar Donetsk between 2016 and 2019, winning three league titles on the spin after initially impressing with both Porto and Braga in his homeland.
He then moved to the Italian capital and took them to the Europa League semi-final where they were ultimately trounced by Manchester United a few months ago. Still, he boasted an impressive win percentage of 52.4% in one of Europe’s top five major leagues across his 101 games which would have been quite the upgrade on Bruce’s 32.9% in 88 outings.
What is his style of play?
Speaking to The Athletic in December 2020, Fonseca admitted his style of play had changed during his time in Italy.
“I’ve had to adapt my ideas,” he said.
“In the past I was obsessive about possession.”
“I’ve changed now. Keeping the ball as I love to do is not possible in Italy.”
“I’ve come to understand the importance of transitions.
“I realise how important it is to win the ball and attack fast because all the teams here are defensively well prepared. Finding space is difficult here. If you don’t attack fast they organise very quickly and you don’t have a transition.”
