OPINION
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and these are certainly desperate times for Newcastle United as the summer transfer window hurtles towards a close.
While the club may have made three signings this summer, there remains a lot of work for Rafa Benitez to complete before the season begins on the 9th of August.
There is an increasing feeling of desperation surrounding the club as Mike Ashley continues to disappoint, and that feeling can be summed up in the club’s latest sale.
As reported by the Chronicle, defender Chancel Mbemba has completed his protracted move to Porto, with the DR Congo international leaving the Magpies after three years.
The regional newspaper claim that the final transfer fee involved was £5million, with a replacement centre-back expected to be brought in soon.
Now, this is a move that has been in the offing for a while, but the clubs’ failure to agree a fee scuppered any deal taking place before this week.
Newcastle were known to be demanding around £8million for the 23-year-old [Chronicle], with Porto looking to pay around the £5million mark, which was the price eventually agreed to.
This means that the Magpies were forced to compromise massively to get a deal done, and that is a huge sign of desperation as the club look to raise funds and shape their squad before the start of the season.
It’s not even as though the two clubs met in the middle. Porto got the price they wanted, and Newcastle were forced to into a £3million compromise which has overshadowed the deal.
This is a sign of times at St. James’ Park, where Benitez is being forced into a ridiculously unnecessary situation in which funds are nowhere to be seen and the squad is no stronger than last term.
That extra £1.5million, £2million, or ideally £3million they could have got for Mbemba may not sound like much, but Benitez could easily have used that to his advantage if a deal had been struck earlier.
Small things like this are slowly building up at the club, and soon things will come to a head and explode, with fans merely left hoping that the aftermath does not see their beloved Benitez walk away from the club he holds so dear.
