Sampdoria owner wants Rafa Benitez to consult a dietician before considering job position

Sampdoria owner Massimo Ferrero will not offer Rafael Benitez a chance to manage his club in the summer, unless the former Liverpool manager goes to a dietician and sheds some weight.

The Spaniard, who is currently the manager at Napoli, has held off contract talks with the Serie A club and is looking for opportunities elsewhere. Benitez is renowned for his Champions League winning run with Liverpool in 2004/05 when the Reds beat AC Milan in the finals at Istanbul, coming back from going three goals down in the first half.

Benitez also won the Europa League in his one-year stint with Chelsea, before passing on the baton to Jose Mourinho, who is set to take the Blues to their fifth ever league triumph, currently 10 points clear at the top.

Current Sampdoria manager Sinisa Mihajlovic has been linked with a move to Napoli to replace Benitez, but recent comments by the owner suggest that a swap would not be possible between the two clubs.

"I could take Benitez, but I'd have to take him to see a dietician first. If Mihajlovic does leave, I've already got a replacement. The media say he's leaving, but I don't know anything about it," Massimo Ferrero told Radio Crc.

"As far as I'm concerned, he's staying. If he were to leave, I'd know who to replace him with. Basel boss Paulo Sousa is not going to be Sampdoria's next coach, it will be comedy actor Lino Banfi.

"Napoli would not be taking a step backwards if they were to get Mihajlovic. I'm talking from my experience and I can say that Sinisa is a man of great sensitivity, a great professional and a great worker.

"He arrives two hours before training and he leaves two hours after. Above everything, he's got incredible ability and if he does leave, then I'm sure whoever gets him will be hitting the jackpot. But they're going to have to wait another year because he's still got a year on his contract with us," he concluded.