Jamie Carragher has bluntly exclaimed that Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez will leave St James’ Park if the club’s current owner Mike Ashley stays.
The future of the North-East club has been under real scrutiny and fans have turned against Ashley after he rejected a bid to by the Magpies from Middle East-based investor Amanda Staveley, as cited by the Daily Mail.
Benitez is believed to be frustrated about the lack of funds made available to him in previous transfer window and January saw the club add just three players.
Martin Dubravka, Islam Slimani and Kenedy all moved to Newcastle on loan deals as the club look to fight a relegation battle in the Premier League.
Carragher has insisted that current boss Benitez can’t carry on for much longer under financial restrictions and feels he will have to leave if Ashley remains beyond this season.
“Even if they stay up I am sure Benitez will not want another season like this” Carragher wrote in the Telegraph.
“Benitez knew what he was signing up to when he agreed to work with Ashley, but he won’t tolerate this any longer.
“If Ashley stays, Rafa will have to go.
OPINION
Newcastle really do have a top manager at the helm in Benitez and are in real risk of losing him the longer this takeover fiasco is drawn out. The Spaniard is a serial winner that has proven himself at some of the elite clubs in Europe and the Magpies could see him slip away from them at the current rate. The club’s supporters dream for the days that they can compete with the top sides in England and have the foundations in place to do that under new ownership. Benitez could no doubt attract some top signings if he had funds available and the January business highlights how far away the club are from league rivals.