Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez has revealed his frustration after not being able to sell a number of Newcastle players this summer. The Spanish manager looks likely to bring the number of signings into double figures by the end of the transfer window but he is concerned by the bloated size of the Magpies squad.
Newcastle currently have 31 first team players, and although a good number are required to compete in the 46 match Championship season, Benitez acknowledges that it is too many and although he wants to sell them, the right offers are not forthcoming. He is quoted by the Shields Gazette as saying:
“I do not want to have players who do not have any chance of playing. At the moment, we have that situation. Why? Because the transfer window is open so there are players who know they will almost certainly not be here, but you are waiting for the right offer and the right offer is not coming. I might have said to a player ‘you can go’, but where is the offer? It is not coming. Or someone comes in and says ‘I will give you this figure’, but we say ‘no – it has to be double’. That is what is happening now.”
The list of unwanted players is a long one. Goalkeeper Tim Krul, midfielders Henri Saivet, Cheick Tiote, Moussa Sissoko & Siem De Jong and forwards Emmanuel Riviere, Yoan Gouffran, Sammy Ameobi & Haris Vuckic are all available to buy. In terms of those available on loan, it is believed Benitez will let Kevin Mbabu, Adam Armstrong and Freddie Woodman leave to get more first team opportunities.
