Lascelles: Club should give Benitez exactly what he wants

NEWCASTLE United captain Jamaal Lascelles believes the Magpies hierarchy should give Rafa Benitez “what he wants” because the club will not find “anyone better” as manager.

Benitez is still yet to learn of his exact January transfer budget, something which has prevented him from signing any reinforcements so far this month.

Mike Ashley is in negotiations to sell the club to PCP Capital Partners Ltd, something which appears to be affecting Newcastle’s January business, and which has left Benitez frustrated with the Magpies’ inability to sign players.

The Spaniard, who led Newcastle to promotion as Championship winners last season, took up the reins at St James’ Park with 10 games remaining during the 2015/16 campaign and fell just short of keeping the Magpies in the Premier League - but Lascelles is adamant he would have done so had he arrived sooner.

If Benitez is backed by the board, the Newcastle captain is adamant the club could “really take off” .

“I can see why other people would want him as he is world class,” Lascelles told The Daily Mail during an in-depth interview. “It would be a massive loss for us. Since he came in everything has been positive, from the reaction of the fans, the respect of the players and what he gets from the players and how we are playing.

“If he had arrived earlier last time round, he would have kept us up. I have come on leaps and bounds since he has been here. So I think we should do our best to make sure he is comfortable and for me they should be giving him what he wants because they won’t find anyone any better than him.”