Rafa Benitez IS a Rangers target for 49ers consortium as timeline for next permanent boss talks revealed

The Spanish manager is looking for his next challenge and has emerged on the early Ibrox shortlist

The San Francisco 49ers backed consortium are considering Rafa Benitez as Rangers next permanent manager, it is understood.

Record Sport broke the bombshell exclusive story last month that American businessman Andrew Cavenagh was leading a consortium bidding to buy a controlling stake in the Light Blues along with Leeds United chairman Paraag Marathe, the main man behind NFL giants San Francisco 49ers’ investment wing. A deal has now been agreed in principle and talks over the future of the club are now ramping up behind the scenes.

Barry Ferguson is currently in the dugout on an interim basis following the decision to axe Philippe Clement – and defeat to Motherwell did the club legend no favours of landing the job permanently. Veteran boss Benitez – who has been out of work since departing Celta Vigo earlier this season – has emerged as a candidate for the hot seat.

Speaking to Hotline Live, Record Sport’s Scott Burns lifted the lid on the chances of the Champions League-winning boss stepping into the Ibrox hotseat: “It was suggested to me on Saturday that Benitez was one of the options Rangers were looking at. When I say Rangers, I’m told it’s very much the incoming new owners who would be looking at the next manager and I know he has started to look at options.

“I was told that Rafa Benitez was one they were going to talk to. I spoke to a colleague who is very close to Rafa Benitez and his agent and they had said there had been no contact at all.

“If they are interested in Rafa Benitez they haven’t taken it to the stage where they have said to Rafa ‘look, we want to talk to you, would you be open to discussions?’