OPINION
With the summer transfer window now open ahead of the 2018/19 Premier League season, Newcastle United fans will be hoping they do not suffer a repeat of last year’s transfer window.
Disputes between manager Rafa Benitez and the club’s hierarchy over certain targets saw the Magpies miss out on several key targets, and left the boss scrounging for leftovers in the final days of the window.
Such delays are known to have cost the club deals for Chelsea goalkeeper Willy Caballero, then of Manchester City, and Blues striker Tammy Abraham, who ended up at Swansea City.
While these two players may not have gone on to make a massive impact at St. James’ Park, the fact is that Benitez was undermined by club bosses who required every single deal to be run by them and scrutinised heavily.
Benitez has made no secret of the fact that he would like the hierarchy to take a step back and allow him to pursue the targets he wants and to spend money how he wants, history may be about to repeat itself for the Magpies this summer.
As reported by the The Sun, the club are set to delay any transfer business until Benitez has resolved his future in talks with managing director Lee Charnley.
Now, it has already been established that the possibility of Benitez walking away is now minuscule despite the impasse in talks, with the Chronicle claiming that the manager and club are in constant conversation about transfer targets.
This means that the club need to already be actively searching and hunting for the targets set about by Benitez, with time of the essence in such an important transfer window.
That is obviously not the case however, with the club deciding to delay any transfer swoops until Benitez resolves his future.
While this is not quite the same situation as last summer, this is definitely a damaging move that could lead to the club missing out on some of their top targets yet again.
Benitez will be looking to rival some of the division’s top teams in the market this summer, and to do that he will need the full backing of the board.
That will obviously not happen immediately, and by the point that an agreement is reached, the club will already be playing catch-up in the highly-competitive market.
A repeat of last year will merely serve to set Newcastle back in the progress they have made in the past season, and likely drive Benitez to a premature exit in the near future.
It is a risky move from the club, and one they may badly regret.
