Ashley needs to loosen Magpies’ purse strings
The civil war at Newcastle United – between owner Mike Ashley and everybody else – is threatening to undermine prospects for the forthcoming season.
Rafa Benitez has been pleading for funds to bring in reinforcements, but those pleas have fallen on deaf ears.
Benitez worked wonders last season to guide a team with a majority of players from their Championshipwinning season into a top-half finish.
The Spaniard wants to push the Magpies higher, but worries about the consequences if the squad is not strengthened.
Ashley knows his star is Benitez. With him in charge, it’s highly likely the Newcastle will not be relegated and lose all that Premier League money.
But trouble is lurking because B e n i t e z ’s contract runs out next summer and he has shown no inkling of signing a new one unless he’s convinced of the club’s ambitions.
With 52,000 fans at St James’ Park for every home game, the Spaniard is desperate to find out what would happen if the club had a real go.
Transfer activity does not hint at a club desperate to challenge the big boys. Goalkeeper Martin Dubravka, signed permanently, and the Brazilian Kenedy, back on loan from Chelsea, are not new faces.
That leaves free transfer K i - Su n g Ye u n g f rom Sw a n s e a , £ 3 m Sw i s s centre- half Fabian Schar and Japanese forward Yoshinori Muto for £9.5m.
But even those small investments have been offset by the money raised from the sales of Mikel Merino and Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Benitez has spoken about being outspent by Huddersfield, Wolves and Fulham – never mind clubs who should be direct rivals such as West Ham and Everton.
The mood was further darkened by a 4-0 loss to Portuguese side Braga in midweek. While fans will hope for a busy late dash in the transfer market, that is unlikely.
So with the owner unwilling to loosen the purse strings, Newcastle look destined for a campaign fighting to stay out of the bottom three.
Of the three promoted clubs, the clout of superagent Jorge Mendes at Wolves has brought in Portuguese World Cup players in Rui Patricio and Joao Moutinho to complement a squad that was far too good for the Championship.
Play-off winners Fulham have used their London location as a magnet to attract players, but i t ’s a different approach at Cardiff, where Neil Warnock has created a very British feel.
The outspoken City boss turns 70 in December and the best present he could wish for would be keeping his side in the Premier League against the odds.