Rafa Benitez names 'intelligent' Newcastle United player destined for management

Benitez has written about Steven Gerrard’s move into management in his latest column for The Athletic.

And United’s former manager has speculated that Martin Dubravka is destined for coaching and management because of his “understanding” of the game.

“Being able to see and read the game – being able to think quickly – are important qualities for a manager,” said Benitez.

“I’m speculating now, but that’s why I think Martin Dubravka, who was our goalkeeper at St James’s Park, could become a coach.

“That’s my feeling. He understands the game. People rightly will point out that not too many keepers become managers, but I wonder if that’s because in the past they tended to train separately from the rest of the team, so they would have less involvement in terms of the sessions, tactics, positions and things like that.

“With keepers having to play with their feet more now, they have much more direct involvement. In turn, that will help them learn more about tactics.

“In theory, they should be good managers, because they have a much better position than anyone else to see what’s happening in a game and to analyse it. Usually, they’re intelligent. With Martin, you could see all that. Perhaps, in the future, he will put that to use.”

Benitez also suggests that Paul Dummett. Jonjo Shelvey, Christian Atsu and Matt Ritchie could stay in football when they retire.