Fear that Rafa Benitez could depart at the end of the season grew when Newcastle United walked away with not a single signing in the January transfer window.
Publications all over opined that the problem reeked of Mike Ashley’s involvement, something the billionaire owner said he would back off from doing. Benitez was supposed to have the first and final say in all transfer negotiations, but if that were true, I highly doubt the club would have left January with no new names on the team sheet.
The club was rumored to be in talks to sign Andros Townsend, something we now know wasn’t all that close to begin with. Modou Barrow, a loan deal that I thought was in the bag turned out to be rubbish as the player nonchalantly just moved to another club for the rest of the season. No mention of the magpies in the discussion.
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Issues like this tend to cause rifts between managers and owners. And while the managers may be in the right, the owners are in charge. Benitez has clashed with owners before, notably at Inter Milan when the Italian giants slumped to sixth in the league. At the end of the season, Benitez demanded the club help with the situation by giving him new signings. He was sacked soon after.
So are fans right to worry that Benitez will not let Ashley walk all over him? After all, it almost feels like a charity effort with Benitez in charge of Newcastle United. We don’t deserve Benitez. His presence at this club is a gift, and it’s a glimmer of hope that the future for the magpies is bright. If Mike Ashley continues to get involved, he will find the future much darker.
But Benitez has shown no sign of anger nor frustration with the owner. It currently seems as though Benitez was prepared all along to not sign anyone during the January window. It was widely believed that Benitez had been given a sizable transfer kit for January to bolster the squad, if that money wasn’t used, is it on Benitez that no one was signed?
I believe that as long as the club gets promoted, Benitez will consider the year a success. If the club fails to reach its goals, than a slow and nonexistent transfer window will be to blame. Benitez is a results-oriented manager. If nothing bad comes out of January, then he’ll have no problem moving forward with the club.