Times journalist George Caulkin has delivered a worrying update on contract talks between Newcastle and Rafa Benitez.
He was responding to a fan who asked him how the talks were going amid all the talk being centred around the potential takeover.
And Caulkin said that the failure to get a deal done with Benitez before the takeover news broke has made the ongoing talks “tricky”.
Caulkin said that while it was “Difficult to give an update when there hasn’t been a resolution”, “the failure to reach an agreement so far makes things tricky now. They’re still trying to get him to stay but so much is in the air.”
Caulkin made the claim on his personal Twitter page on Tuesday evening.
Difficult to give an update when there hasn’t been a resolution. And the failure to reach an agreement so far makes things tricky now. They’re still trying to get him to stay but so much is in the air.
— George Caulkin (@GeorgeCaulkin) May 28, 2019
OPINION
The really cynical among the Newcastle fans will see the latest takeover talks as a smoke and mirrors job to divert attention away from the talks with Benitez. As the Newcastle fan said, he believes this is the most important thing actually happening at Newcastle at the moment. And the takeover talks could actually have derailed the Benitez situation, with beIN Sport journalist Ben Jacobs claiming that even if a deal were to go through, it wouldn’t happen before the expiration of Benitez’s contract, which is June 30. Caulkin claims that the failure to get a deal done has now made things tricker between Newcastle and Benitez, and with so much in the air it’s surely tough for Benitez to commit himself to the club. If the takeover evaporates and its only legacy is driving an even bigger wedge between Newcastle and Benitez, it would be a disaster.