Newcastle United have undergone a rollercoaster ride over the past six weeks since the club was taken over by a consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
Out has gone Mike Ashley, in has come chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the silent face of the PIF, and Amanda Staveley, of PCP Capital Partners, the public face of the new regime.
Out has gone Steve Bruce, and after a drawn-out recruitment process, in came Eddie Howe as Newcastle’s new manager.
The Magpies are suddenly flush with cash - the PIF has assets worth £250billion, according to the BBC - but as The Beatles sang, money can’t buy you love.
With the January transfer window on the horizon, Newcastle still without a win this season and money burning a hole in their pocket, the club are sure to be linked with lots of players in the coming months.
But as the events since October 7 have shown, it might not be so straightforward to attract people to St James’ Park.
Here are seven people who have already turned down the opportunity to join the new era on Tyneside.
Unai Emery
Howe was not Newcastle’s first choice as Bruce’s successor and the way it played out means he knows it too.
Villarreal boss Emery initially looked poised to take the role after being approached by Staveley, but the move fell apart the following day after the news leaked to the media.
Emery got cold feet and soon issued a statement to reaffirm his commitment to Villarreal.
"I am grateful for the interest of a great club, but even more grateful to be here," he wrote.
BBC Sport reported that the former Arsenal manager was concerned about the lack of a clear vision and uncertain about the club's strategy, given the difference between himself and Howe.
His public rejection was a slightly embarrassing moment for Newcastle, who were then forced to move onto Howe.
Philippe Coutinho
One of the most eye-catching transfer rumours of the past month was the one linking former Liverpool star Coutinho to a Premier League return.
On the face of it the transfer made sense. Here is a hugely talented but expensive player who Barcelona could do with getting off their books being offered the chance to start anew in the league where he made his name.
Coutinho joined Barca from Liverpool in a blockbuster back in 2018, for a fee which could reach £142m, so Newcastle’s deep pockets would have been stretched for a January move.
But unfortunately for them Coutinho has backed out of it, with Sport claiming that he has already ruled out a move to Tyneside and wants to try and rekindle his Barca career under new boss Xavi.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen
Barcelona’s financial issues make them a perfect source of potential star players for Newcastle, but it seems they may have been a tad overambitious in their search.
Barca goalkeeper Ter Stegen has been linked with the club and his reported reaction suggests they are barking up the wrong tree.
According to Spanish newspaper Sport, he did not even ‘listen to the offer’ which was made.
Ter Stegen was reportedly ‘surprised’ to know that Newcastle ‘still did not have a technical structure’, more than a month after the arrival of their new owners.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Who should Newcastle sign in the January transfer window? Comment below.
Marc Overmars
Newcastle have a manager, but a sporting director remains outstanding on the to-do list.
One of their targets on this front was Ajax chief Overmars, who has impressed in guiding the Dutch club since 2012.
Arsenal have previously sounded out the former winger with no success and Newcastle’s efforts were met with a similar response.
After some tentative initial talks, The Athletic says he decided to turn down the opportunity to stay with the Dutch champions, whose manager Erik ten Hag is also attracting lots of attention.
Zinedine Zidane
In the giddy early days of the takeover just about every available manager was linked with becoming Bruce’s successor.
Antonio Conte and Paulo Fonseca were considered alongside a whole host of other names, including that of three-time Champions League-winning manager Zidane.
Zidane left Real Madrid in the summer and remains without a club to this day, but it never seemed realistic for him to pitch up in a relegation battle.
According to El Espanol , Newcastle wanted to appoint Zidane before they looked at Emery, but the Frenchman turned them down because he was ‘comfortable’ being unemployed, with the chance to replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United on the cards.
Jose Mourinho
Mourinho only joined Roma in the summer after being sacked by Tottenham, but that didn’t stop him from being brought up in conversations around Newcastle.
His difficult start with Roma - he has won just one of his last seven in all competitions - made the rumours a possibility, as did him saying he had an “emotional connection with that city and that fanbase”, having worked with Bobby Robson.
But after those comments made a splash, the Portuguese reaffirmed his commitment to the project at Roma.
"No. Absolutely not,” he told Sky Italy when asked whether he was interested in the vacant Newcastle job.
"I signed for three years and nothing can make me leave these lads.”
Declan Rice
Rice is a player wanted by just about every Big Six club in the Premier League, so why wouldn’t Newcastle throw their hat into the ring too?
The 22-year-old midfielder is getting better with every game and has starred for both West Ham and England for over 18 months.
Hammers boss David Moyes has repeatedly said Rice is not for sale amid interest from Chelsea and Manchester United and, unsurprisingly, Newcastle were met with the same response.
Rice’s representatives told 90min he was very happy with West Ham and had no intention of entertaining reported interest from Newcastle.
He is under contract until June 2024 and will command a gigantic fee if he ever does move on from the east London club.
