Harper is desperate to see Rafa Benitez backed by Newcastle this summer.
Former Newcastle United goalkeeper Steve Harper has told Sky Sports that owner Mike Ashley must provide a transfer budget worth up to £100million in order to satisfy manager Rafa Benitez.
However, he has requested assurances over his transfer budget for the summer window, among other things, if he is indeed to sign a new deal on Tyneside.
Newcastle fan favourite Harper said, as quoted by Sky Sports Transfer Centre (Tuesday, 2:40pm) that Ashley should prepare a kitty of up to £100million in order to keep the Spanish boss happy.
“If they finish 10th, that’s an incredible achievement and he needs to be backed, because if he is backed, the players he has brought in – the likes of Kenedy, [Martin] Dubravka – they’ve shown the quality and level that he wants to work with,” Harper said.
“If he is backed, hopefully they can move up the table year on year. It’s a big ask – he’s not going to get the amount of money to break into the top six, that’s a big, big ask.
“But if he is backed to the tune of, I don’t know, £50m, £100m – I don’t know what players are now – then I certainly think they are capable of moving up a couple of places in the table.”
Benitez was left frustrated last summer, as he only managed to bring in Javier Manquillo, Florian Lejeune, Mikel Merino, Christian Atsu, Joselu and Jacob Murphy – all for less than £50million.
It was a similar story in the January transfer window, with Benitez struggling to bring in a striker and having to make do with Islam Slimani on loan from Leicester City who has managed just 130 minutes of football since.
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