Jose Mourinho’s No.2 Rui Faria has emerged as a surprise contender to take over from Arsene Wenger at Arsenal.
If reports from the Sun are to be believed, Arsenal have identified Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho’s assistant coach, Rui Faria, as one of the possible contenders to replace Arsene Wenger at the end of the season.
The Gunners will be without a manager once the season draws to a close after current head coach, Wenger, announced that he will be vacating the post he has held for 22 years. The legendary Frenchman has had a historical career with the North London club, leading them through the most successful period in the history of the club.
Things had gotten difficult in recent years for Wenger, with Arsenal unable to reach the same heights as they did in the early years of his career and a large section of the club’s supporters have been calling for his head for quite some time now. Wenger had signed a new contract with the Gunners after last season’s FA Cup triumph but has decided to bring an end to his tenure in North London despite having a year left on his deal.
Arsenal had reportedly identified former Barcelona manager Luis Enrique as the prime candidate to take over from the departing Frenchman. However, it seems that negotiations have hit a snag with the Spaniard owing to his steep salary demands and disagreements over the transfer wish-list.
Jose Mourinho’s No2 Rui Faria on Arsenal's radar – but who is the man behind the woolly hat?https://t.co/m13vMUMljH
— The Sun Football ⚽ (@TheSunFootball) May 1, 2018
The Gunners are understood to have drawn up a list of 14 possible candidates to come into the club ahead of the next season and one among those names is Jose’ right-hand man Faria.
The Manchester United coach has been working with Jose for almost two decades now, having started out as a fitness coach back in 2001, before becoming the Portuguese tactician’s assistant. The 42-year old has been attached with Mourinho at every club he has managed, starting from Porto to Chelsea to Inter Milan to Real Madrid and now at United.
However, it is believed that Faria has managerial ambitions of his own and if Arsenal were to come in with a serious offer, he would be very willing to consider the opportunity.
Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke has somewhat set a precedent for such an event to occur, having recently appointed rookie coaches at all of his three sporting ventures in the USA. However, it just seems impossible that the Gunners would be replacing a legendary figure in Wenger with a man who has no top level managerial experience.
