Ray Parlour has claimed that Newcastle United could be a top-six Premier League side if they get a “little bit of investment” and a good manager and owner.
Newcastle are just under a month away from kicking off their 2019/20 season but are without a manager and there are still major doubts surrounding the future of owner Mike Ashley amid interest from the Middle East.
When discussing which teams could break into the top-six of the Premier League, Alan Brazil asked Parlour whether he thought Newcastle could be in contention.
The former Arsenal player rubbished their chances of doing that in the near future, but has suggested that the Tyneside club holds the potential to be able to break the top-six monotony.
“Not at the moment, no,” said Parlour on talkSPORT on Monday morning [07:56am]. “Because of the mess at the moment with the ownership.
“Any manager going into Newcastle, they need investment. That’s been the problem all the way along.
“They could be a top-six side if they got the right owners and the right manager on board.
“A little bit of investment, I think they could be in the top-six.”
OPINION
Newcastle need more than just a “little bit” of investment to break into the top-six, they need a complete overhaul because it’s hard to say more than a couple of their current players have the ability to potentially play for a current top-six club. Newcastle need a new owner more than anything else. It speaks volumes about Ashley that getting rid of him and changing ownership is currently more important than the need to hire a new manager, just weeks before next season kicks off. Not offering Rafa Benitez what he wanted was a ridiculous move by Ashley and the Newcastle board because they simply won’t get anyone better than the Spaniard. Ayoze Perez has left the Magpies in the wake of Benitez’s exit, Salomon Rondon is unlikely to return and Sean Longstaff might also be off. It’s not going to be popular with some Newcastle fans, but there should be more discussion about them potentially being relegated next season rather than finishing in the top-six.
