OPINION
Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez would have been heading into the summer transfer market with a feeling of trepidation and frustration, rather than hope and ambition – and his worst fears have been realised.
The Magpies might have sealed the deal for four new signings – two of which ended the campaign at St James’ Park anyway – but the harsh truth of the matter is that the Spanish boss is once again scraping the dregs of the barrel for bargain deals which he feels might help bolster an already threadbare squad.
It is likely the case that Benitez has been told by those above him at St James’ Park that he has to sell before he can buy – but if a report revealing the prices the Magpies have been selling at, the former Liverpool boss will be fuming.
In a rundown of all the transfer deals completed by Newcastle this summer, the Chronicle report that former senior trio Mikel Merino (£10million), Matz Sels (£4million) and Chancel Mbemba (£5million) have been sold for just £19million – the sort of money that some Premier League clubs are spending on one player, if not a fraction of the price paid for a new arrival.
If that is all that the club are generating through transfer sales, then Benitez has no hope of ever hitting his ambitions of a handful of quality new signings, and although he might have signed off on the deals, it would have been done so reluctantly, with a sense of resentment that the Magpies negotiated such low prices.