Howe sack? Mourinho targets Newcastle job after claiming the Turkish league ‘smells bad’

Fenerbahce boss Jose Mourinho wants to take over at Newcastle United if Eddie Howe leaves the Premier League club, according to reports.

The Portuguese manaager took over as Fenerbahce manager in the summer after leaving Serie A side Roma in January.

But things have not gone completely to plan for Mourinho in Turkey with the former Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham boss launching a rant following Fenerbahce’s 3-2 victory over Trabzonspor last Sunday.

After being denied a strong penalty appeal and conceding two spot-kicks of their own, Mourinho said: “Nobody abroad wants to watch the Turkish league.

“Who wants to watch this Turkish league abroad? They have the Premier League, they have the French league, they have the German league, they have the Portuguese league, they have the Dutch league.

“Why should they see this? … It’s too grey, it’s too dark, smells bad. But that’s my job, and I will give everything to my job, to my club.”

And now The Guardian claim that Mourinho ‘is targeting the Newcastle job if Eddie Howe leaves St James’ Park’ as he feels he has ‘unfinished business in the Premier League’.

Mourinho regards the Newcastle role as ‘his best chance of another job in England’ after he ‘made clear his unhappiness in Turkey’ during the tirade at the league.

The report adds:

‘Mourinho is understood to have reached out to intermediaries asking to be kept abreast of any developments at Newcastle. The 61-year-old met Newcastle’s chairman, Yasir al-Rumayyan, at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in a social capacity in March and has maintained the connection.

‘In another sign of his itchy feet Mourinho was on charm offensive when United were in Istanbul for their Europa League game last month, greeting old colleagues and English journalists in the manner of long-lost friends.

‘Howe is not under immediate pressure and has been buoyed up by back-to-back victories over Chelsea and Arsenal after a difficult start to the season, but is not guaranteed long-term job security given the ambitions of Newcastle’s Saudi owners, who want the club in the Champions League. The 46-year-old lost two crucial allies when the directors Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi left last summer, and there has been tension with sporting director, Paul Mitchell, who was appointed in July.’

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Alexander Isak is one player who has been linked with a move away from Newcastle next summer and former Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke thinks the Arsenal target would be naive to sign a new contract at St James’ Park.

Yorke told SafestCasinoSites.co.uk: “It’s an interesting one, the future of Alexander Isak. He’s a good player. I like the look of him, I have to say. I know he’s had his injury problem this season so he’s not as hot as we know that he can be. He scored a goal against Chelsea last week, but Newcastle lost the game.

“I think as a player, you’ve just got to weigh up your options. He doesn’t need to rush into signing a new contract, and, when he did sign, there was a sense of optimism that Newcastle were going to be the new kid on the block when it came to winning trophies and competing with the best in the Premier League. That hasn’t quite happened for them, and I don’t think it will.

“There was a lot of talk, a lot of hope. PIF comes to town with unlimited resources, but the club cant tap into those because of PSR and instead of going forward, they’ve hit a brick wall, and they haven’t really kicked on.

“They’re not in a great position in the league. There are rumours of problems behind-the-scenes between the manager and the board, why would you rush to commit to that as a player if you were Isak?

“I’m sure the fans and the manager would love to secure his signature, but, speaking from the perspective of a player, he won’t want to sign anything when he knows there are other, bigger clubs that would love to take him. It would be naïve of him to so.

“Isak needs to bite the bullet for now. Say you just want to focus on playing football and doing your best for Newcastle. The same old phrase all players use, but the reality is that he probably sees his future away from the club.”