Peter Kenyon has revealed Jose Mourinho would be his 'first thought' if he was put in charge of a 'great club' that needed a new manager after previously attempting to raise the funds required to buy Newcastle United.
News of the former Manchester United and Chelsea chief executive's interest in forming a consortium to take over the Magpies broke a year ago and Mike Ashley revealed he was 'closer than ever' to selling the club in December.
While a leaked letter Kenyon wrote to Ashley before Christmas revealed the pair 'shared' a serious determination to finalise the agreement', and acknowledged that the Newcastle owner saw Kenyon's investor group as the 'best fit', a takeover never materialised.
On Thursday night, it emerged Kenyon had put together a fresh bid for the Magpies with the help of GACP, who own Bordeaux, and a 46-page brochure claimed Steve Bruce had 'achieved unparalleled success in Europe'.
Kenyon has not spoken in public about the takeover bid but when asked whether Mourinho was an outdated football manager, the 65-year-old jumped to his former colleague's defence.
“If you put me in charge of a great club and you needed to appoint a manager, my first thought would be Jose Mourinho," he told El Pais at the World Football Summit in Madrid.
"He’s intelligent, he’s relevant and has vast experience. He isn’t outdated. I just think he needs the right club. I’m sure that you’ll see Mourinho be a part of a great club again.
“The key is give him the adequate structure and organisation to make sure he’s a part of everything. I was the first to express my disappointment when he left United because I think he could have been a part of that great leadership structure. No one better than him knows what United represents. Jose is far from being an irrelevant and outdated manager.”
Although Mourinho emerged as one of the early favourites with the bookies to take over from Rafa Benitez at St James' Park earlier this summer, there was no substance to the link.
Mourinho has a longstanding admiration for Newcastle United and Geordies from his time as Sir Bobby Robson's assistant, but has prioritised stability, ambition and structure with his next move.
