Newcastle United could pull a u-turn over letting Mohamed Diame leave the club if Rafael Benitez does stay on Tyneside, according to the Chronicle.
The newspaper claim on their live blog that the 35-cap Senegal international, who was revealed to be heading out the exit door at the end of his contract as Newcastle officially announced their retained list, could be kept on board at St James’ Park depending on Benitez’s future.
Like the midfielder, the manager is also out of contract at the end of the month, the pair having both spent three years with the Magpies.
Opinion
This really would be a turn up for the books. Newcastle confirmed that Diame was on the way out but it seems as though Benitez might well have wanted to keep him on board if he had the choice. Obviously with the Spaniard not putting pen to paper on a new deal, the club appear to be reluctant to hand the midfielder one – Diame quite clearly not the profile of player that they would look to keep on board at 31-years-old. A new long term deal is wages that could be spent elsewhere and with no resale value, they probably think it best he heads out for nothing this summer. There is an awful lot of speculation not just about Benitez but the ownership of Mike Ashley and a new senior figure could change things entirely. For now, Diame has to think he is on the way out at Newcastle United and new investment would probably result in the same thing, Benitez likely to be handed additional funds to sign new players.