Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez is expecting the club to make imminent inroads into the transfer window over the coming week after holding crucial talks with managing director Lee Charnley over their summer recruitment, according to the Chronicle.
The Newcastle based newspaper report that the Spanish boss has held discussions with Mike Ashley’s right hand man and wants to see the ball rolling on some spending to strengthen the first team at St James’ Park, with their pre-season campaign kicking off on July 2nd.
However, it is stated that the top brass at Newcastle are unwilling to sanction big-money spends this summer and that they are not willing to go for their top targets without having the financial safety net provided by the sales of current players.
Opinion
It looks as if this could be another slow burning summer for the Magpies, which will frustrate both Benitez and the Toon Army to no end. The north east side overachieved with their 10th placed finish in the Premier League last season and new recruits, especially in attack, are much needed. Taking them to Tyneside is a tough task with transfer fees having skyrocketed over the last couple of years, but Mike Ashley is still unwilling to green light more funds for Benitez, leaving him to work off a shoestring budget. The Spanish manager might be expecting some work to be done over the coming seven days with regards to new arrivals but without the cash, there is no way the club will be able to carry out the sort of business the Newcastle faithful want to see. That has to change sooner rather than later if the Magpies are going to grow, and a failure to invest could well see them battling it out at the bottom of the top flight table.