Newcastle United boss Rafa Benitez has told club bosses he wants to sign four more players before the start of the season, according to the Chronicle.
The regional newspaper report that Benitez handed managing director Lee Charnley a list of targets during a recent meeting, with the Spaniard making apparent his remaining concerns ahead of the new season.
The Chronicle claim that Benitez is looking to sign a centre-back, a left-back, a striker, and a new number ten before the close of the window.
It is said that the club’s stance however remains unchanged, with Benitez told that he will not have large funds to spend in the remaining days of the window.
OPINION
Four signings before the end of the window seems a long shot considering Newcastle bosses have been totally unwilling to release funds this summer, but Benitez has to do all he can to push them into action. The four signings that Benitez has made so far – Martin Dubravka, Ki Sung-Yueng, Fabian Schar, and Yoshinori Muto – have come at a total cost of around £16million, and that is brilliant business from the experienced Spaniard. He will have to pull off similarly cheap deals if he wants to secure these four signings he wants before deadline day, and it looks slightly unrealistic that he will be able to pull all four off. One signing that does look likely to happen is that of West Bromwich Albion striker Salomon Rondon, who looks like he is edging close to a move to Tyneside. That deal should see Dwight Gayle go the other way, which leaves Benitez still short in attack. It will be interesting to see what he can pull out of the hat in the last ten days of the window, but things are not looking too promising for any big money moves.
