Newcastle United will have a transfer budget of just under £100 million this summer, according to Chronicle journalist Lee Ryder.
The Magpies are reportedly on the verge of selling Ayoze Perez to Leicester City for £30 million, as reported by the BBC, and that money should add to a sizeable war chest.
Writing for the Chronicle, Ryder said: “Given the club have made no secret of the fact that Benitez would have had £50million to spend – plus potentially £11million left over from January sales – the Perez money would give Newcastle a competitive transfer fund of just under £100million.”
OPINION
This information should be taken with a pinch of salt. Ryder is brilliant journalist and a reliable source, but how can you properly legislate for the actions of the Newcastle board at the moment? Sure, the club might have £100 million to spend in theory, but in practice, they might spend less than half of that. The other thing to add, of course, is that almost a third of that money is being made up selling one of their most influential players from last term – a talent who hit 13 goals in all competitions. Another caveat that should be taken into account is the fact that the Magpies don’t actually have manager at the moment. You could be sat there like Croesus, surrounded by teetering piles of infinite wealth, but if there’s nobody to spend it for you, you’re going nowhere. £100 million is an eye-catching figure, and it’s certainly better than a poke in the eye, but at the moment, it solves and proves absolutely nothing.
