By Luke Andersen
With Mitrovic set for Fulham, Porto finally agreeing a fee for Mbemba and £10m already ‘banked’ for Merino, Benitez’s transfer kitty should be set to receive a little boost if this ‘sell to buy’ approach is to be believed – however it may not be that simple.
For generations, being a Newcastle United fan has always been a topsy-turvy affair.
No successful highs since winning the fairs cup in 1969, long periods of mediocrity with a few top players to get excited by. The rejuvenation in the 90s under Keegan, and the changing face of football with Sky sports. The support never dwindling, and folks living and breathing black and white whilst the rollercoaster cracks on.
It’s confusing being a Newcastle united fan. It’s confusing listening to Mike Ashley. Sorting through his lies and false promises.
It’s of no shock therefore that the local press are now claiming that Benitez will not necessarily be given all of the money to reinvest from any potential Mitrovic sale – and this after Mike Ashley had spoken on TV claiming Rafa will be given every last penny the club makes. Confusing…
We’ve so far sold Merino for £10m, with Mbemba now poised to leave for around £6m. Add those two sales to the £20m Mitrovic would bring in and you’re looking at about £35m being recouped.
But should this signal a sure course for optimism? That Rafa can safely say he’s got a further £35m worth of spending clout?
Not so, it would seem, for there’s potential obstacles and pit-falls when it comes to the instalments often involved in transfer fees nowadays. Mitrovic may be sold for a total of £20m but it would come as no surprise if the fee was paid over the course of a few years, much in the same way the Sissoko transfer to Spurs was drawn up.
And an additional factor are the agent fees which are involved in transfers these days, often running into millions of pounds – with Ashley bound to take all these additional costs into consideration when it comes to new arrivals (meaning Rafa’s budget won’t stretch as far as it may seem).
Having said that we rarely see these types of excuses used by other Premiership clubs, using the modern business of football transfers as an excuse for money issues – it’s the same for all clubs and players so why is it we only ever seem to hear Mike Ashley’s club kicking up a fuss?
At the end of the day the whole situation involving money and Mike Ashley is a confusing one. He must be impossible to second guess.
We don’t trust what Mike Ashley says or does and no fan can say for sure just how much of the transfer funds Rafa brings in this summer he will have direct access to.
