Rafa Benitez’s contract at Newcastle United expires in 2019 and the club are hoping to tie him down to a long-term deal.
What is the most efficient way to bring a swift end to speculation surrounding your manager’s future? Well, there’s not much more you can do than hand him a new contract.
According to The Times, this is what Newcastle United are planning to ensure that Rafael Benitez, whose future was debated long and hard this summer due to perceived differences over transfer policy with owner Mike Ashley, doesn’t cut short his exciting project on Tyneside.
Benitez’s contract is currently due to expire at the end of next season but, after a solid start to the campaign for the newly promoted side, the club are planning to begin negotiations over a longer-term deal.
However, it is understood that the Spaniard wants to hear Ashley’s long-term vision for the club before committing himself to St James’ Park for the next few years. The report adds that Benitez considered resigning on a number of occasions over the summer as Newcastle chiefs failed to secure the majority of his primary transfer targets.
Benitez clearly wanted a new goalkeeper, a left-back and reinforcements up front but the only player to arrive in any of those positions was Joselu, an affordable £5 million signing from Stoke City (Sky Sports) who had only four Premier League goals to his name prior to this season.
However, while Newcastle pulled off a major coup bringing the former Valencia, Liverpool, Inter and Real Madrid manager to Tyneside in March 2016 with the club heading for relegation, it could be seen as an even bigger achievement if they convince him to stay amid the behind-the-scenes drama that has claimed many a manager during Ashley’s reign.
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