Agent denies Benitez approach

The agent of Rafael Benitez has denied reports that Chelsea have approached the former Liverpool manager about the manager’s position.
Current Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas is under severe pressure after a run of just two wins in 10 Premier League games, a home draw with Birmingham in the FA Cup and a 3-1 defeat to Napoli in the Champions League.
Talk of dressing room unrest has also fuelled rumours owner Roman Abramovich is looking to replace the 34-year-old he spent £13million bringing to Stamford Bridge just six months ago.
The Russian, who usually watches Live Football Online from his luxury yacht has flown in to look at the squad train at first hand and hold meetings with the squad and coaching staff – though quite what he can offer from a football point of view is surely limited.
Benitez has been out of football since being sacked as manager of Inter Milan in December 2010. He had been linked with a move Paris St Germain prior to Carlo Ancelotti’s appointment.
However, Benitez is keen to manage again in England, where he still has a property and the premier league odds on his return have dropped dramatically in recent days.
On the face of things Benitez may be the ideal man to step into the breach at Stamford Bridge. His defensive pragmatism may stiffen up an increasingly fragile backline, with the likes of David Luiz likely to lose their spot in the line up.
However, he is also notoriously stubborn and may have trouble dealing with a egotistical dressing room that appears to turn on their boss when things go wrong.
The old guard need replacing at the Bridge but the players are reluctant to accept it. They still wield far too much influence behind the scenes meaning that any boss – currently AVB – who tries to wield the axe, may find themselves isolates while Abramovich has certain players whispering in his ear – as was the case when Luis Phillip Scolari was sacked in 2009.
Despite his agent’s denial the rumours of a Benitez move to Chelsea persist, with some reports suggesting the deal could be done within deals.
Of so it will be another expensive failure by Abramovich, who has gone through seven managers in eight years in charge of the club. With extensive change needed at the Bridge will any manager get the time needed to do their job properly, or is instant success the only way of appeasing the Russian oligarch?