Benitez looks to the next generation
MANAGER TALKS TO LEE RYDER ABOUT THE NEED TO MAKE SURE ACADEMY PRODUCES RIGHT PLAYERS FOR THE CLUB
RAFA Benitez is building for the future at Newcastle United and is hoping to give youth its chance in the next few years.
It is another hint that he is ready to sit down with Mike Ashley and talk about the club’s next step with the club’s situation still uncertain.
United remain up for sale, Ashley hasn’t spoken publicly for months and Amanda Staveley is yet to return with a fresh bid. Yet Benitez continues to work away in the background.
After revealing the club’s extensive scouting network during a sit down interview on the club’s recent trip to Spain, Benitez is now eager to ensure that the quota of young players coming through the ranks improves.
Two weeks ago Newcastle released a big group of players as they look to reboot their Academy and second string in order to bolster Benitez’s squad going forward.
Younger players will get a chance to develop next season in the club’s Under-23 while contracts were handed out to Luke Charman, Cal Roberts and goalkeeper Nathan Harker.
Newcastle are still in talks with some of their Under-18 squad about the prospect of professional deals too.
Benitez had to park plans to improve the Academy during Newcastle’s promotion bid in the 2016/17 season, and the first half of this year was all about laying foundations for Premier League survival.
Now he has more room to manoeuvre when it comes to homegrown players, he told the Chronicle: “The way that we work is to try to analyse what we have.
“What can we improve? We’re trying to see if we can improve things all the time.
“The main thing was to get promoted in the first season, then try to improve the Academy, try to improve the squad.”
When Newcastle went up as champions of the second tier last May, Benitez knew that the bar had also been raised in terms of quality.
He said: “The Championship quality compared to Premier League is massively different. Once you’re back in the Premier League that’s like a new start.
“So we had to start all over again with all of these things. We’re trying to do it in the way I like to work. It is to analyse.
“We are analysing the potential of the Academy and to see if we can change something so that we can have more players coming from that end.
“We can’t compete at this level unless you spend massive money or if you can bring players from the Academy that can guarantee some passion, better ways, and to save money from a transfer fee.
“It’s really important to do that.”
Yet Benitez will also look to bring in some players that can help the club move on to the next stage. Benitez, who wasn’t given a penny to spend in January, revealed: “It’s also really important to have some players with experience in the Premier League. “You need players that can give you confidence during the season. Then that makes the young players grow. “It’s what you try to do at any club but especially here after a couple of years.” Benitez stated earlier this year that Newcastle fans are knowledgeable and they could understand his position given he hasn’t had much to spend during the last three windows. With managers under pressure in the Premier League, Benitez spoke of the expectations of supporters on Tyneside. He said: “Some fans ask: ‘Why are you doing that?’ But the majority of them can see that we use common sense. “To do things here you must use common sense. If you have to do something one way, we’ll do it. “Sometimes it will turn out to be right and sometimes
The main thing was to get promoted in the first season, then try to improve the Academy, try to improve the squad Rafa Benitez
it may be wrong. But it has to be the way.
“The staff we have around are good workers and they have experience so they are doing things that are in the way that will be better for the club by the end.”
Newcastle’s trip to Spain last week didn’t result in any of the negative headlines football fans have seen at West Ham and West Bromwich Albion this season.
A picture of the team eating together was posted by skipper Jamaal Lascelles. Benitez reflected: “The idea was to bring everybody together.
“It was easy really because normally the majority of the players have a good relationship.
“We were surprised to see all the talk in the English Press about teams going away and the problems, and we were surprised because everything is very good here.
“Hopefully, the players enjoyed it. They worked but they also watched some football, played golf or things like that.”
“We’re all together here.”