Report: Former Chelsea Man Michael Emenalo Leads Race for Newcastle Job

Originally posted on FanNation Absolute Chelsea
By Nick Emms | Last updated 11/8/21

Former Chelsea technical director Micahel Emenalo is the 'leading candidate' to take over as Newcastle United's director of football, according to reports in England.

The Magpies have announced Eddie Howe as the replacement to Steve Bruce in the managerial role.

And as per the Telegraph, they are looking to appoint a new director of football in the coming weeks, with Emenalo as the leading candidate.

The former Chelsea technical director was with the club between 2011-2017, where he helped to completely restructure the club's academy, scouting and loan systems.

During his time with the Blues, Chelsea brought in several big names such as Juan Mata, Kevin De Bruyne, Thibaut Courtois, Mohammed Salah, Cesc Fabregas and Eden Hazard.

Eddie Newton has recently heaped praise on the director, whose most recent spell was with Monaco, as he said:

"We developed the feedback we gave players and improved our organisation with other clubs. When Michael went, I would get involved in loan negotiations before it went onto Marina (Granovskaia). It was something we built and that I was really proud of by the end.

"We built a world-class programme that I know a lot of other people are copying today. A lot of clubs came to us and asked us for a little bit of help, we helped them up their game and that’s fine. You can only have the secret for a little bit!"

Emenalo would be a smart appointment for Newcastle as he looks to provide as much success as he did during his time at Chelsea.

More Chelsea Coverage

This article first appeared on FanNation Absolute Chelsea and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: