Benitez concerned by Mike Ashley’s contract offer – £60m ‘plus sales’ but no compromise – Report

According to the Chronicle, issues with the club’s transfer policy are said to be a ‘big factor’ behind Rafa Benitez’s reluctance to sign a new contract at Newcastle United.

Lee Ryder’s latest piece claims the Spaniard has been offered around £60m plus players sales this summer, but insists that Mike Ashley has ‘not budged’ on a transfer approach that has ‘infuriated’ Benitez in recent windows.

This suggests Benitez will not have the freedom to spend his budget as he sees fit, meaning players over the age of 26 may be refused by the club and something that would place real doubt over a £16.5m move for Salomon Rondon.

Not only that, the report suggests Rafa would have to ‘make a case for each signing’ and then wait for a yes or no from Lee Charnley, with it seeming as though we’re now solely focused on signing young players with high potential, seeing us revert back to Ashley’s tedious transfer policy.

This is all so infuriating and completely insulting if you’re Rafa Benitez. The budget offered is something Rafa could work with if cash raised player sales were fully reinvested, but the fact a world class manager needs to convince non-footballing people to make certain signings is totally undermining his intelligence.

Here’s a snippet from Ryder’s latest piece for the Chronicle:

‘Benitez’s concerns about exactly how much he has to spend are believed to be a big factor in the delay on his contract situation.

‘The Toon boss has questioned the ambition of United and whether the resources available to him are realistically going to be enough to transform the Magpies from relegation fodder to a top 10 outfit.

‘Talks between Mike Ashley, managing director Lee Charnley and Benitez have now been concluded and the Toon boss is currently back at his home in the Wirral contemplating whether to sign a contract extension put to him on May 17.

‘Even before player sales come into consideration a transfer pot of £61million should come Benitez’s way but the club have not budged on the same transfer policy that has infuriated the former Liverpool boss in the past.‘

‘Benitez has to effectively make a case for each signing and wait for an answer from Ashley via Charnley.

‘This painstaking process has cost United incoming deals before as the time taken for a decision has resulted in players moving elsewhere.

‘Benitez will still get the final say on who comes in and who goes out, but he wants a quicker turnaround on deals.’

An initial budget of £61m isn’t exactly competitive, so it’s fair to say Benitez would be looking to trim the squad and raise cash where he can to add to his pretty ordinary initial spending pot.

With this in mind, the piece does also claim that the likes of Shelvey, Murphy, Manquillo, Clark and Joselu could be cashed in on to boost Benitez’s budget, with Isaac Hayden also highly likely to earn us around £15m as he prepares to move back down south for personal reasons.

I’m sure Benitez could still manage to work wonders if given around £60m plus players sales – even under a strict and tedious transfer policy – but this ‘update’ only emphasises the need for a takeover this summer.

What a mess.

(Fancy writing for us? Get in touch at [email protected] & we’ll get back to you!)