Newcastle United have reached a stalemate in discussions with Rafael Benitez, with the club not being able to sign a player without the Spaniard’s permission until July, according to the Chronicle.
The newspaper claim on their website that Benitez’s contract is set to expire at the end of June and talks between the former Liverpool man and Mike Ashley have reportedly come to an end with no resolution revealed so far.
It is stated that the stalemate means Newcastle are unable to secure any new arrivals, nor sanction any exits, without Benitez giving the green light, with the club said to be unwilling to give their backing without the manager committing to the future.
Despite end-of-season meetings between Benitez, Ashley and Lee Charnley, no new deal has yet to be agreed at the club.
With the ongoing takeover saga, Benitez’ contract has become background noise at Newcastle and for business to continue, as usual, it seems the Spaniard’s contract will need to be sorted – the quicker, the better.
OPINION
The longer this continues, the more worried Newcastle fans will become. It is very clear that the majority of Newcastle fans would like the former Real Madrid boss to stay in charge after three great years at the club. In his spell, Benitez has overseen a relegation, promotion and the process into a mid-table Premier League side. This has the potential to get messy at the club though with these latest reports showing how Benitez has control over which transfers happen at the club in regards to both incomings and the departures. It’s the last thing the club needed with the takeover talks happening at the same time, with no one looking secure in any role as of now. Mike Ashley seems to have sat back and done all he believes he can and will now wait for an answer. The conclusion could look simple – If Benitez isn’t happy with any part of the deal then he will more than likely walk away, which is becoming a bigger possibility with each day that passes by.