Newcastle United are keen to appoint a director of football who will handle the transfer operations and the day to day running of the club.
According to The Athletic, the Premier League side approached Ajax director of football Marc Overmars regarding the vacancy but the former Netherlands international has turned down the opportunity to join the Magpies.
The Premier League club recently underwent a takeover and the new owners are keen on taking them back to their glory days. The highly ambitious owners have already relieved Steve Bruce of his managerial duties and appointed Eddie Howe as his replacement.
It remains to be seen whether they can bring in a quality director of football who can help Howe rebuild the club in the coming seasons.
Overmars has done an exceptional job at the Dutch club so far and his shrewd recruitment in the transfer market has helped Ajax win multiple league titles and reach the finals of the Europa League and the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Apparently, the Dutchman is not keen on moving to the Premier League yet and his decision will come as a massive boost for Ajax and their fans.
Meanwhile, the Telegraph adds that former Chelsea director Michael Emenalo is now the leading candidate to join Newcastle United as their director of football.
Emenalo did an impressive job at Chelsea for a decade and he’s reportedly a fan of Eddie Howe. It will be interesting to see if the two can get along and transform Newcastle in the near future.
Emenalo is highly rated across Europe and his contributions off the pitch helped Chelsea win three Premier League titles, an FA Cup, the League Cup, Europa League and the Champions League.
The 56-year-old was also crucial to the signings of Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, Thibaut Courtois and Eden Hazard. He also played a key role in the development of the Chelsea Academy during his time at the club and the Blues have profited from his hard work.
Several talented youngsters like Mason mount, Reece James, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori have come through the Academy in recent seasons.
Newcastle will be hoping for more of the same from Emenalo if he ends up taking over as the club’s new director of football in the coming weeks.
