Last week gave us the news we’d all been praying for – Rafa Benitez’s meeting with Mike Ashley was a success and the Spaniard committed his long term future to the club.
Since the big announcement was made last week, the Chronicle released some inside information regarding what actually went down during last week’s crunch talks.
The talks took place last Tuesday, with helicopter believed to have flown Benitez, Ashley and Charnley out to a secret destination to undergo talks.
Following ‘4 hours of talks’, Benitez had heard enough from the NUFC owner to be convinced, with a belief that the pair were on the same page when it came to the next step in a sizeable rebuild at the club.
The Chronicle state that discussions focused on how the club plan to progress year-on-year, with Benitez outlining his vision for the future. The gaffer is believed to have voiced his vision to improve the Academy, training ground, medical and scouting departments, also stating his wish for significant investment towards the first team squad.
The report also states that Benitez asked for guarantees regarding his authority in the transfer market, with Ashley said to be being happy to allow the Spaniard to work alongside Lee Charnley to drive through his transfer plans.
Benitez said is understood to be targeting 7 first team players this summer and as many as 10 signings in total, with a centre-back, left winger, central midfielder and two strikers central to his plans. Such wishes will be sanctioned by Ashley, with sources close to the billionaire owner claiming he agreed about the need to reinforce the current group.
An interesting insight from one of the club’s media partners.
Here’s hoping Ashley sticks to his word and things continue to go smoothly this summer.
