Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez has given Mike Ashley to ultimatum of breaking the club’s transfer record and bringing in new recruits during the summer window before he puts pen to paper on a five-year contract, according to the Mirror.
The newspaper states that there is a long-term contract offer on the table for the Spaniard, who is a firm fan favourite at St James’ Park, as he enters the final year of his current deal on Tyneside.
With Ashley at the helm, the Magpies have not broken their transfer record of £16million, spent on Michael Owen back in 2005, and it is stated that Benitez is demanding this is the year it is smashed before he commits his future to the club, with the response being that bids have been tabled for targets.
Opinion
Benitez only wants the best for Newcastle, but knows he cannot continue in a job where he is not given the backing or freedom to bring what he believes will be success to Tyneside. Ashley wants the club to be run on a shoe string budget but now is the time for him to decide whether he splashes out to keep his manager, who is without a doubt one of the biggest assets at St James’ Park, or he continues to penny pinch with just enough expenditure to keep the club afloat in the Premier League. He recognises that the Spaniard is a crucial part of the big picture moving forward, hence the reported five-year deal on the table, but keeping him in the dugout requires spending the cash he is so reluctant to part with. Where the club go from here, only those in negotiations will have any idea, but the fans will be desperate to see Benitez get his way.