Newcastle have been urged to appoint Rafa Benitez again instead of Mauricio Pochettino when the Saudi takeover is complete, but former striker Michael Chopra. The former Tottenham boss is believed to be the new consortium’s top target to replace Steve Bruce when they complete their £300m deal to buy the club.

But former striker Chopra, who came through the youth ranks at Newcastle and spent six years in the first team, thinks they should be getting Benitez back after his spell at the club.

Chopra claims Benitez has unfinished business at the club and believes he would be a better bet for success.

“I would go for Benitez over Pochettino,” Chopra told the Daily Star.

“Pochettino built up Tottenham from pretty much nothing, got them to the Champions League final and on the verge of winning the Premier League.

“But the only thing going against him is he didn’t win anything – which puts me off a bit.

“With Benitez, he’s got unfinished business. He did well at the club and had a great relationship with the fans.

“He just wanted a bit more money to try and push them into the top 10.

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“Benitez has already got plans for the football club and at almost every team he’s been at he’s won trophies.

“Newcastle are hard to manage because you have to get the fans on your side quickly – but Benitez managed to do exactly that.

“I’ve got friends who don’t enjoy it any more with Bruce trying to nick a 1-0.

“It’s not entertaining, it’s not football and it’s not Newcastle.”

The takeover remains on course to go through and could be announced this week.

However there are issues with piracy claims the FA are involved in and with human rights activists urging Newcastle to reject the deal.

Premier League chief Richard Masters refused to be drawn on the issues when speaking last week.

Masters is working on getting the Premier League back up and running and has set a date of June 17 for the restart.

However the Newcastle deal is still in the works and is being put through the Premier League tests and is still to be ratified.

“We need to ensure all the processes are followed properly and when the decision is made, it’s the right one,” Masters told Sky Sports.

“I don’t think timing is an issue here.

“I don’t think that we have any specific views about when these things need to be done by.

“What we need to ensure is that all the processes are followed properly and when the decision is made, it’s the right one.”

Masters was also asked about the issues of Saudi ownership and said: “I can’t get into it.

“The takeover of football clubs is… an entirely confidential process so I can’t say anything about it and can’t say anything to prejudice those discussions.”