Newcastle United boss Rafa Benitez is planning to use his contacts from European clubs so they can alert him to the availability of their players, according to the Chronicle.
The regional newspaper reports on their website that the Spaniard is also in contact with the club’s head of recruitment Steve Nickson on a regular basis regarding potential transfer targets.
Liverpool are one of the five clubs that Benitez has a good relationship with, and he has utilised this by asking about strikers Divock Origi and Dominic Solanke – however, he has still not finished his list of mid-season targets.
The Spaniard has opted to ask about whether players are available, and if they are, he will then decide whether they are what Newcastle are looking for.
OPINION
This is a smart move from Benitez, as going about his initial transfer business this way allows him to get one step ahead of the game. He will know which players are available, and he will then judge whether they will be suited to Newcastle. Seeming as United are in a mess at the moment, it is important that Benitez gets his homework done early this time around. With Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Milan, Chelsea and Atletico Madrid also amongst the clubs that he maintains a good relationship with, there is no doubt that he will be alerted to the availability of some top quality players. However, as Newcastle already have Kenedy and Salomon Rondon on the books as loan signings, they cannot recruit any more temporarily in January – which means that a move for Solanke is effectively ruled out, as he is more likely to leave Anfield on loan. However, Benitez need not worry about that too much, especially if he utilises his contact book effectively.
