Celtic should be on alert as Rafa Benitez quits club

Rafa Benitez, Celtic. (Photo by Tom Jenkins/Getty Images)
Rafa Benitez, Celtic. (Photo by Tom Jenkins/Getty Images)

It is no secret that Celtic are in need of a new manager. While Neil Lennon still occupies the post, it is expected that he will be shown the exit door sooner or later after the club’s disastrous 10IAR campaign.

When that does happen, the club must make a statement and bring in someone with real pedigree through the door. Eddie Howe has been linked with them constantly over the last few months but recent rumours suggesting that Newcastle United are after him should be a major worry.

As reported by Transferchanger, Rafa Benitez has quit Chinese Super League club Dalian Professional and wants a swift return to management. This should interest the Celtic board.

When it comes to pedigree, bringing in Benitez would be even bigger than the appointment of Brendan Rodgers. Could they pull it off? Do they even want to pull it off? Those are the big questions right now.

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Rafa Benitez to Celtic would be a blockbuster move

Now, it is obvious that the Hoops cannot offer the kind of money that Benitez was making in China. They can offer him something though that most other clubs can’t, and that is a chance at managing in the Champions League once again.

Of course, that would take some doing on Benitez’s part as well as the club have not made it to the competition in the last three years but you would expect a manager of his quality to back himself and get that done.

This would be the kind of statement managerial appointment that would bring back a good feeling around Parkhead after what has been a nightmare of a season. And just think about Benitez against Gerrard in the Glasgow Derby, the story writes itself.

It would be a huge move, not just for Celtic but also for Scottish football as a whole. Now, the question is, can the Hoops pull it off?