OPINION
Newcastle United boss Rafa Benitez undoubtedly wants to bolster the squad ahead of their upcoming campaign, but he is in the position where he needs to sell before he can recruit anymore signings.
One player on that list was centre-back Chancel Mbemba, with the club confirming on their official website that he was sold to Portuguese outfit FC Porto two days ago (23 July).
And Benitez was right to offload the rarely seen defender, who only made nine appearances for the Magpies throughout the entire 2017/2018 Premier League season.
The boss was quoted by the Shields Gazzette explaining the reasoning behind the sale: “We had Jamaal (Lascelles), (Ciaran) Clark and (Florian) Lejeune doing well, so he didn’t have his space (in the team). There is an opportunity for him now to go to an important club and do well.”
“We have to strengthen everywhere. If we want to compete in the Premier League, we have to be stronger. It’s as simple as that.”
Newcastle got £7million for centre-back, three years after buying him for £10million from Anderlecht.
Losing money on a player isn’t great for Newcastle, and Mike Ashley certainly won’t like it, but that £7million represents great business if Benitez can get his hands on it.
Recruits are needed and deadwood needs to be swept away. Mbemba wasn’t good enough for Newcastle and Benitez was right to cash in.
Newcastle need players that can make a positive impact within the team, and the Congo international is not the player to do that.
Benitez and the Newcastle fans will be hoping that this can begin to kickstart a number of signings – the club now needs to prove they are capable of bringing in suitable replacements.
