Rivals are ready to capitalise on Rafa uncertainty
TOP SIDES LOOK TO LURE TOON STARS AS HOTSEAT WRANGLE CONTINUES
FIRST Mikel Merino. Then Jamaal Lascelles. Now Florian Lejeune.
There was always going to be interest in Newcastle United’s best players this summer, but the regularity with which Magpies stars are being linked with moves away from St James’ Park is gathering pace at an unusually early stage.
Normally June is a relatively quiet month for transfer rumours, particularly during World Cup year.
Yet this summer things are very different. Lascelles has been heavily linked with several top-eight sides, Merino is being courted by at least two Spanish clubs, and Florian Lejeune is now wanted by Sevilla.
But the timing does not appear coincidental. The uncertainty surrounding Rafa Benitez’s long-term future at Newcastle is not just creating anxiety on Tyneside – it also appears to be emboldening rival clubs.
It is more than six weeks since Benitez’s representatives opened contract talks with Newcastle managing director Lee Charnley about potentially extending his deal, which has little more than a year left to run.
Yet here were are, almost two months after United all but guaranteed their Premier League status for 2018/19 by defeating Arsenal 2-1 at St James’ Park to surpass the 40-point mark, and Benitez is perilously close to entering the final 12 months of his contract.
Interest from West Ham United, Leicester City and Napoli may have evaporated, meaning it is highly likely Benitez will still be in situ once preseason training begins in less than a month’s time – but long-term planning is being affected as a result. There is no doubt that the Spaniard is now frustrated by the impasse over a new deal, yet he is unwilling to commit himself to Newcastle before he is convinced they share his own ambitions. Owner Mike Ashley promised Benitez “every penny the club generates” to spend this summer, but the Spaniard wants to know precisely what that means in terms of a figure – as well as the promise he can spend it as he sees fit, even if that means using the majority of his transfer budget to make one big-money signing. His potential transfer budget is only one of many very important elements Benitez wants confirmation of. The Spaniard also wants to know – among many other things – that he can improve Ne w c a s t l e ’ s training ground, radically overhaul the Academy and Under-23 set up, continue to upgrade and bolster his scouting team, and streamline United’s approach to completing transfer deals.
But it is not just actual substantive improvements Benitez wants to see off the pitch; he also needs to know that attitudes at the football club will change – and that Newcastle match his own ambitions.
Fighting against relegation, and even scrambling around in mid-
table mediocrity, does not interest Benitez. He wants to know he will be afforded the backing to compete for European qualification, as well as challenge for trophies.
As of yet, Newcastle have not convinced Benitez they can deliver all of those things – and the Spaniard appears determined to wait and see if the club match their words with actions, given three successive transfer windows during which he was left disappointed.
And, although the day-to-day running of the club has been unaffected – with Benitez and Charnley working their way through a list of transfer targets – the doubt over his long-term position is offering encouragement to rivals that Newcastle’s best players could be lured away.
If Lascelles or Lejeune, for example, are able to be con- vinced Benitez will not be on Tyneside beyond the end of next season, they may decide their own futures lie away from St James’ Park too.
Everton have certainly made that calculation with regard to Lascelles, and that is why the Toffees are considering testing Newcastle’s resolve by lodging a bid for the United captain.
But incoming transfers may be affected too; Benitez himself privately acknowledges that, if he enters the final 12 months of his deal, some players may opt against moving to Newcastle on a multi-year deal for fear that the Spaniard will not be in the dugout for the duration of their potential contract.
This situation has dragged on for far too long and it is indirectly impacting upon Newcastle’s potential transfer business this summer – both in and out.