Steve Howey believes Rafa Benitez could finally receive some support in the transfer window after Newcastle suffered a 3-2 loss to Nottingham Forest on Wednesday night.
The Toon were knocked out of the second round of the Carabao Cup by Championship side Nottingham Forest, compounding a dismal start to the 2017-18 season which has seen them lose their opening two league matches.
Former Newcastle and England defender Howey claimed on his personal Twitter account that the “penny might drop” for Toon owner Mike Ashley after Wednesday night’s loss.
https://twitter.com/stevehowey624/status/900471583625576450
Ashley has kept a tight stronghold on the Newcastle purse strings this summer, allowing Benitez to make only five permanent signings in Christian Atsu, Florian Lejeune, Jacob Murphy, Javier Manquillo and Joselu.
In a recent interview, Ashley revealed that he cannot compete with the likes of Manchester City and is not prepared to fund Newcastle from his own wallet, stating that Benitez can use anything the club earns.
But that may not be enough, with the former Liverpool and Real Madrid manager struggling to offload a number of Toon outcasts including the likes of Achraf Lazaar, Tim Krul, Henri Saivet and Siem de Jong.
Newcastle took the lead against Nottingham Forest through Aleksander Mitrovic, before Jason Cummings scored a quick-fire brace. Rolando Aarons then equalised in first-half injury time, with the score remaining the same until the final whistle.
However, Forest’s Tyler Walker popped up seven minutes into extra time to score the decisive goal and continue Newcastle’s losing streak.
OPINION
There is no doubt in the majority of Newcastle fans’ minds that their club must spend big in the final week of the summer transfer window if the Toon are to avoid an instant drop back to the Championship come May 2018. Newcastle are without a Premier League goal and showing a lack of creativity, while early injuries and suspensions to Lejeune, Paul Dummett and Jonjo Shelvey have highlighted the need for further depth. The Toon need three big signings in central midfield, the number 10 role and up front if they are to stand any chance of reestablishing themselves as one of the biggest football institutions in the Premier League this season.