Former NUFC favourite could receive shock offer from Saudis if they seal takeover – Report

Former Mag Nikos Dabizas has been earmarked by the prospective new owners for a potential return to the club as Director of Football, according to The Chronicle.

The Greek international enjoyed five years on Tyneside during the late 90s and early 00s, and is best remembered for scoring the decisive goal in a 1-0 win against Sunderland back in February 2002.

He was most recently a technical director back in his homeland at Panathinaikos, but is thought to be on Staveley’s shortlist for a potential role at the club.

Here’s a snippet from Mark Douglas’ latest piece for The Chronicle, revealing how the former Greek star is a ‘candidate’ for a potential DoF role:

Newcastle United’s prospective new owners will not be short on candidates interested in a potential Director of Football role.

The deal is with the Premier League with sources close to the buyers confident the deal will be sealed soon. That would herald an exciting new era in the club’s history with funds set aside to invest in the training ground and also beef up the club’s board and add a number of executives on the football and non-sporting side.

They are looking at several appointments along with a potential Director of Football. And one candidate keen to return is Nikos Dabizas, who is working for Greek Super league club Panathinaikos.

Dabizas has helped rebuild the Athens side, wheeling and dealing efficiently and also promoting players from the club’s Academy. A crowd favourite as a player, he has his UEFA pro licence and executive master for international players.

Dabizas also retains representation in the area in the form of Paul Monaghan, an agent with Newcastle-based St James’ Square Sports Management.

United’s prospective new owners have talked to others in the game about roles, although a transition period would be likely where many staff were retained to ensure a smooth period while the club remained in lockdown. 

Dabizas still has some connections to the North East, with his son Konstantinos playing for various clubs in the Northern League, and even appeared for Gateshead.

His appointment would provide experience to the role as well as a strong knowledge of the club, not forgetting the fact he was somewhat of a cult-hero during his time on Tyneside.

Dabizas played in both cup final defeats in 1998 and 99 so knows how much a push for silverware would mean for supporters.

Whether supporters would welcome him as DoF is another thing, with some noises from supporters hoping for a more fairytale candidate to assume the role – like Kevin Keegan for example.

A role for KK would sure be more ceremonial, rather than Dabizas, who would be expected to play a more prominent role in the day to day running of the club.

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