Rafael Benítez wants three or four Newcastle signings in next 12 days
Newcastle UnitedRafael Benítez wants three or four Newcastle signings in next 12 days
• Newcastle manager says takeover talk is not a distraction• ‘We have to be sure we can get our January targets,’ says Benítez
Rafael Benítez was noncommittal about his future at Newcastle United after revealing he knew Amanda Staveley’s mooted club takeover was off three weeks go.
“My future is tomorrow against Manchester City,” the manager said when questioned about whether he would reconsider his commitment to remaining on Tyneside long term. “I will not do it [reconsider] before the game at Manchester City. Football is football – everything can change in one minute.”
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Read moreBenítez has received assurances from the club’s owner, Mike Ashley, that he will be able to strengthen his relegation-threatened squad before the transfer window’s closure but is waiting for his first signing. “We have some targets and some names,” he said. “We are trying to progress.”
On Tuesday night sources close to Ashley announced the sports retailer had ended talks with Staveley and accused her of time-wasting, which she has denied. “When I was talking with Mike Ashley he told me that the takeover wouldn’t go through,” Benítez said. “I have known this for three weeks. There’s been a lot of speculation about the takeover but he told me it was not going to happen.”
More positively, Benítez seems cautiously optimistic that Ashley realises the dangers of not reinforcing the team this month and the manager is anxious to do everything in his powers to hold the owner to his promises.
“Mike said clearly they [Newcastle’s board] will try to do the best they can to bring the players we are looking for,” Benítez said. “The conversation was positive. Now we need to see the players here. We have to believe we can do what we need to do right up to 31 January. The message was really positive, so we will now see where we are at the end of the window.
“They have the names. We have three or four positions we want to improve. We have to be sure we can get our targets. We have to know the realities of the Premier League. It’s not the same Premier League as two years ago – we have to be able to compete with those teams who are spending money.”
Pressed on whether he could envisage himself working with Ashley in the medium to long term, Benítez turned opaque. “In the future you never know,” he said. “My future is Manchester City and after that Chelsea and then Burnley and Crystal Palace and so on.”
Benítez has 18 months left on a contract that includes a clause stipulating he – or a poaching club – must pay a £6m compensation fee should he resign before entering the final 12 months of the deal.
For the moment, though, he does not appear to be thinking beyond the spring. “For me, the main thing is to stay in the Premier League,” he said. “If that happens the future will be bright. I don’t know if anything is close but we have the green light to bring in players. It will be a red light when we get to the end of the transfer window but it’s a green light now.”
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