Former Arsenal midfielder Giovanni van Bronckhorst is interested in becoming the next manager of Newcastle United, according to his agent.
It was announced on Monday that Rafael Benitez will be leaving his role at St. James' Park upon the expiration of his contract this weekend, having failed to agree to new terms laid out by boss Mike Ashley.
The departure has been met with anger by many Magpies supporters, some of whom held a protest at Ashley's running of the club on Monday evening.
But Van Bronckhorst - who also played for Rangers and Barcelona and has just finished four years in charge of Feyenoord, another outfit he used to play for - still sees the club as an "amazing" one and would seemingly like to take the reins on Tyneside, according to his agent Guido Albers.
“I think the rumours have come a little bit early and no-one from the club has spoken to Gio. But I think every coach in the world would be interested in working in the Premier League,” he told the Newcastle Chronicle .
“And what we would say if a club like Newcastle has an opportunity to work for them then of course he would be interested in doing that. It is an amazing club with an amazing fanbase but it’s up to them who they decide to go for.
“Giovanni left Feyenoord, he was competing on a limited budget but won the Eredivisie (in 2016/17) against two clubs in Ajax and PSV who have greater resources.
"He had a great relationship with the fans, the players, the media and the city and he’s ready for the next challenge.”
Van Bronckhorst also won two KNVB Cups at Feyenoord, where he was replaced by the former Manchester United defender Jaap Stam this summer.
