Rafa Benitez has told the Newcastle United board that he is in no mood to sell any of his side’s key players in this window, according to the Chronicle.
The northern newspaper claim that the Magpies boss is believed to have told the club’s hierarchy of this desire after witnessing players such as Jamaal Lascelles, Dwight Gayle, Florian Lejeune and Mikel Merino be linked with a move away.
The Chronicle report that Benitez will only consider a major departure happening if there is an astronomical fee involved and that he was assured that money from sale would go straight into his transfer budget.
It is believed that the managerial genius is very aware of Mike Ashley’s reluctance to spend and requires big assurances from the owner that he will be allowed to splash the sort of money that would break the club’s transfer record.
OPINION
Benitez is constantly seeking big assurances from Ashley and it’s about time the owner started delivering if he wants the manager to stick around. The current Magpies manager isn’t exactly asking for a lot when he’s requesting that the club be willing to break their transfer record as compared to what other spend, it’s peanuts. The most the Magpies have ever spent on one player is the £16million, as cited by the Chronicle, splashed on signing Michael Owen from Real Madrid in 2005. In regards to Benitez’s desire to hold on to last season’s star performers then that wish should also be met by the club. It’s unthinkable that players like Lascelles and Lejeune in particular could depart the club anytime soon as both are important defenders who enable the Magpies to achieve regular clean sheets in games. Given how slow the Magpies have been in recent transfer windows it’s also understandable that Benitez needs assurances as soon as an agreement for a player to leave is reached. It would be a terrible situation if the club received £30million if they were to let Lascelles go, only to not have enough time to reinvest the funds in the same window.
