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Steve Bruce's 'Ideal' Replacement At Newcastle Named By Pundit Ahead Of Rangers Boss Steven Gerrard

Steve Bruce's 'Ideal' Replacement At Newcastle Named By Pundit Ahead Of Rangers Boss Steven Gerrard

Trevor Sinclair believes that Italy boss Roberto Mancini’s time with Manchester City would make him a beneficial acquisition for Newcastle.

Roberto Mancini would be the “ideal” candidate to replace Steve Bruce as Newcastle manager amid intense speculation linking Steven Gerrard with the club.

That is according to former Manchester City winger Trevor Sinclair, who claims Mancini is the “first name which springs to mind for me.”

The Saudi Arabian-backed takeover of Newcastle was officially announced on Thursday, which ended Mike Ashley's 14-year reign at the Premier League club.

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) led the consortium that acquired Newcastle from Ashley, with Bruce’s future at the club now plunged into doubt.

Bruce, who succeeded Rafa Benitez as Newcastle manager in 2019, is expected to meet with Newcastle's new owners next week for talks.

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Liverpool legend Gerrard has emerged as a potential frontrunner to replace Bruce after his successful managerial spell with defending Scottish champions Rangers.

However, Sinclair believes that Mancini’s impressive resume and time at City makes him a potential target that Newcastle should not overlook.

“I think you need a manager who has done this before -- and the first name which springs to mind for me is Roberto Mancini,” he told talkSPORT.

“But I don’t know whether it’s too soon with his reign with Italy and whether he would walk away from that.

PA

“He’s done it at Man City, you’ve got to bring in big players to set new players, Mancini would be the ideal man to do it, he’s still young enough to do it.

“They would be wise to look at the Man City model and the way they’ve done it, because they’ve been so successful. Take away the Champions League and they’ve won everything.”

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Mancini lifted a Premier League title and an FA Cup during his four seasons at City, but he was sacked in 2013 after he “failed to achieve any of the club's targets, with the exception of qualification for next season's Champions League.”

The 56-year-old Italian went on to manage Galatasaray, Inter Milan (for the second time) and Zenit Saint Petersburg before he became Italy manager in 2018.

Mancini’s Italy side impressed during Euro 2020 in the summer and defeated England on penalties at Wembley to secure the Henri Delaunay Cup.

Amanda Staveley, who helped broker the Saudi Arabian-backed takeover of the Magpies, told Sky Sports that “Newcastle United deserves to be top of the Premier League.”

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Roberto Mancini, Steve Bruce, Newcastle United, Premier League, England, Football