OPINION
Rafa Benitez is a legend at Newcastle but could his time up north be coming to an end?
His contract is up in the summer and his obvious love for the club can’t disguise the fractious relationship between him and owner Mike Ashley.
It’s not a straightforward power struggle – Ashley holds all the cards and is showing no signs of budging, despite the wants of the fans. But Ashley won’t want to lose Benitez purely because the club is worth more with him at the helm.
Ashley knows that he’s going to have to spend money in the summer to keep Benitez but the question is what value does he actually put on Benitez?
The early signs aren’t great. Benitez is a big fan of Salomon Rondon and landed his man on loan in the summer. If West Brom don’t get promoted then £16million will see him make a permanent move, but Ashley is reportedly baulking at paying so much for an older player – Rondon is 29.
What else will it take? A report in the Star claims that people close to Benitez have said his demands will be reasonable but will stretch to two more players around the same price as record signing Miguel Almiron.
He joined for £21.6million in January and has already looked impressive.
So, that makes a total of around £60million – not a huge amount of money by Premier League standards, but a lot for Ashley.
However, this is make or break time. If Ashley digs in and keeps his wallet shut, we think Benitez will walk. And that could end up being one of the most costly mistakes Ashley will ever make.
Ashley must finally shape up for Newcastle or watch Benitez ship out. And if he thinks the fans don’t like him now…