Chronicle journalist Lee Ryder has suggested that Newcastle United could have a transfer budget of around £50 million to spend in the summer.
The Magpies broke their transfer record to sign Miguel Almiron in January, and Ryder believes that Mike Ashley will sanction more spending in the summer, provided Benitez stays.
However the journalist claimed that Newcastle will need to consider spending more on transfer if they want to attract a big-name boss if Benitez ends up exiting.
Writing in a Q&A for the Chronicle, he said: “There will definitely be some investment this summer but how much remains to be seen.
“Newcastle held back on funds last summer as Benitez did not agree a deal and some incoming deals were affected by that. If he does sign he should get something to the tune of £50million or more.
“Newcastle also need to consider that if he doesn’t and they do want to attract a big-name boss to replace him, they will have to cough up a decent transfer kitty or they’ll be left with what they had before – managers who are just happy to do the job on a shoestring kitty like Alan Pardew and Steve McClaren were.”
OPINION
As with everything at Newcastle at the moment, this seems to depend massively on whether Benitez stays or not. You would expect him to, but the main caveat of his signing of a new deal will almost certainly be more backing the transfer market. As for the £50 million touted, that sounds like a lot, but in reality, it won’t go very far. Newcastle could have something of a mini-exodus on their hands this summer, and if the worst comes the worst they might need to replace two or three central midfielders, Salomon Rondon, and find a new left back at least. That’s five players off the bat, and while incoming fees would help bolster the war chest, if the Magpies are serious about climbing the league table next season then they need to be spending bigger than they have done historically. £50 million probably isn’t enough to do that, but only time will tell if that is the amount Ashley offers up and if Benitez is happy with it.
