Journalist Lee Ryder believes that Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez wants to hear from owner Mike Ashley that there is some ‘wiggle room’ in his current contract offer.
The Sun reported on Wednesday that the Spaniard had been handed a final offer of a new deal from the Magpies chief. However, Ryder believes Benitez wants to do some more negotiating.
“I think Rafa Benitez really is holding out for an improvement from what Mike Ashley’s already offered,” he told The Chronicle’s news and transfer centre [20/06; after 13:43]. “We’re told that the talks are over and they won’t be resuming any time soon.
“But as long as Rafa’s under contract and as long as there’s that little bit of time left… maybe it’s up to Mike Ashley to come back and say ‘there is a bit of wriggle room on what we’ve offered previously and we want you back here’. And that will be the message that the fans will want the club to send out.”
OPINION
This has just become a farce, hasn’t it? Newcastle have a world class manager on their hands who, with the right backing, is able to take the club back to their former glory. However, he is being hamstrung by an apathetic owner who is seemingly prepared to allow him to walk out the St James’ Park exit door in a matter of days. There’s about 10 days to go until the Spaniard’s contract runs out, yet we’re still hearing that things are at an impasse and that Benitez wants more from Ashley. The Newcastle boss has the reputation of a sensible guy, so it’s unlikely that he’s asking for the world. It’s far more probable that Ashley is so wedded to his penny-pinching style of business that he simply refuses to give Benitez what he wants and what he needs to take the Magpies forward. Obviously there is still time for them to get a deal done, but Ashley really does need to soften his stance and give Benitez what he wants.
