Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez has arrived at St James’ Park to hold crunch discussions with the club on Tuesday ahead of the return to pre-season training, according to Lee Ryder.
The Chronicle journalist claims on his personal Twitter account that the Spanish boss has travelled to the Magpies’ stadium with just under a week until the club’s preparations for the new season get underway, and that he is to undergo a key meeting to discuss the progress made over the summer so far.
Benitez believed to be at SJP for a general meeting about the summer so far. He will meet with club chiefs this afternoon ahead pre-season training next week. #nufc
— Lee Ryder (@lee_ryder) June 26, 2018
Newcastle are yet to enter the transfer market other than turning Martin Dubravka’s loan deal into a permanent one, while Benitez’s own future is uncertain with just a year left on his current contract.
Opinion
What fans would do to be a fly on the wall in those meetings between Benitez and the top brass at St James’ Park. He will not be happy at the way the club are yet to even get close to a new signing, and will demand to know exactly how long he can be expected to wait before he gets the cash to splash over the coming months. With pre-season just under a week away, he would have liked to see at least one or two new faces to join the squad, but instead it looks as though he could well be missing a couple of senior stars thanks to the World Cup, while Mikel Merino could well never return to Tyneside again. These meetings had better be productive if Newcastle are going to have any chance of success this summer, and they could be crucial to determining whether Benitez commits his long terms future at St James’ Park.