OPINION
Mike Ashley must wake up and loosen Newcastle United’s purse strings after West Ham easily overtook the Magpies in the race to sign Juventus midfielder Stefano Sturaro.
The Hammers are now in pole position to sign the midfield destroyer, as reported by Tuttosport, as they’re willing to pay 18 million euros (£15.7million) and 2 million euros (£1.75million) in bonuses in order to seal a deal for his services.
This offer completely blows the Magpies out of the water in the race to sign Sturaro as Rafa Benitez’s side were thought to have lodged an offer in the region of £11million, as reported by Tuttomercatoweb, to get the player.
Considering this is Manuel Pellegrini’s sides first reported bid and they’ve already made the Magpies look cheap, it shows that Benitez won’t be able to sign the players he wants unless Ashley wakes up and realises the current state of the transfer market.
Sturaro is exactly the type of player who should be rocking up at St James Park this summer but there’s no way the club will get anyone near his quality on their current budget.
The 25-year-old is a tough tackling midfielder who has the experience of winning trophies and brings with him the ability to play in multiple positions.
According to the latest report by the Chronicle, the Magpies are thought to have £40million to spend with that amount only potentially increasing if players are sold.
Given the long list of new recruits needed, the Magpies are not going to be able to do nearly enough to ensure that they will be competitive and pushing for a top-table finish in the Premier League next season.
Therefore with the Hammers easily passing the Magpies in the hunt for Sturaro, Ashley should have no choice but to wake up and immediately increase the budget he is handing Benitez.
