West Ham United were reportedly interested in appointing Newcastle United’s Rafael Benitez last summer.
Newcastle United boss Rafael Benitez has refused to be drawn on West Ham United’s transfer business, when asked by the Shields Gazette.
Benitez was heavily linked to the West Ham job before they appointed Manuel Pellegrini, with the Spaniard preferring to stay with Newcastle, as reported by the Telegraph.
However, while the Magpies have barely invested this summer, West Ham have shown great ambition.
The Hammers have brought in a whole host of new signings, including Felipe Anderson and Andriy Yarmolenko.
But when asked about West Ham’s transfer business, Benitez refuseed to be drawn.
“It’s not my business now,” said Benitez. “They’re trying to improve the squad. Everybody’s trying to do the same.”
The Newcastle boss could be forgiven for looking on with some slight envy of West Ham, given his own side’s struggles in the transfer window.
Newcastle have made three signings so far, but have only paid a small fee for Martin Dubravka.
Benitez has already stated that Newcastle’s aim is just to stay in the Premier League next season, and he has admitted that aim could be more difficult than last term.
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