Newcastle United are in a right mess.

Rafael Benitez had done an incredible job with The Magpies.

The Spanish manager secured Newcastle promotion back to the Premier League.

He then consolidated their place in England's top division, despite having one of the smallest budgets in the league.

However, Mike Ashley inexplicably let Benitez leave the club this summer.

Attention has since turned to finding his successor.

While their main target now appears to be Steve Bruce, it has now emerged that he was not their preferred candidate.

Incredibly, according to the Daily Mail, Newcastle offered Sam Allardyce a surprise return as manager last week.

Ashley identified the 64-year-old due to his track record as a Premier League manager and because he would not cost any money in compensation.

But Allardyce was concerned that he would have little if any say over signings thus forcing him to reject the offer.

Newcastle have since turned their attention to recruiting Steve Bruce from Sheffield Wednesday.

Although hiring Bruce will likely not go down well with Newcastle fans, the return of Allardyce would likely have been met with more fury.

Allardyce joined Newcastle in May 2007 but left the club seven months later and was massively unpopular with the clubs fans.

The 64-year-old said last month that 'you don’t turn down the Newcastle job if it’s offered‘.

"In my time I was between Freddie Shepherd losing the club and Mike [Ashley] taking the club," he told talkSPORT, per the Chronicle.

“As the years have gone by, Kevin Keegan’s gone back, Alan Shearer’s been back and both of them didn’t quite do as well as the fans expected.

"So I think there’s less of an expectation for the manager of Newcastle now than there was when I was there.

“So I think whoever gets the job he needs to have a good relationship with the CEO or Mike, if possible, and keep taking the club forward until he sells it.”

“I think we all know the pitfalls of the Newcastle job but you don’t turn it down if it’s offered, if you have any ambition.

“I left Bolton to go to the next level. There has been a lack of real success for many, many years.

“The fans have turned to be more patient – they realise what the club has become.

“It was all about winning a cup competition or Europe when I was there.

“Rafa did a fantastic job keeping in the Premier League.

“The hard thing for Mike Ashley is getting someone in to manage the club, what can a new manager achieve to take the club forward? That will difficult.”