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Revealed Mike Ashley hasn’t allowed a single offer to be made for any of Rafa’s targets – Report

6 years ago
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Mike Ashley has been making the headlines once again.

Wednesday afternoon seeing the season ticket prices for next season belatedly announced.

Prices in every stand and in every age group surprisingly going up, some fans finding out that they have to pay over 20% more compared to last season, if they want to renew.

Coinciding (badly) with this unwelcome news, was a report revealing that a month into the transfer window Mike Ashley has so far not allowed a single offer to be made for any of Rafa Benitez’ transfer targets.

The Martin Dubravka loan to permanent deal had to be completed by the end of May for the bargain £4m previously agreed price to be activated.

However, not a single bid has gone in for any new face to add to the squad, according to The Chronicle.

They say that their information is that Rafa Benitez had an extensive list of summer targets to instantly pursue and wanted ideally five to be signed by the time the squad regroup for re-season.

However, with only now 18 days left until that happens, there has been no attempt to buy a single player.

Newcastle fans, and undoubtedly Rafa Benitez as well, thought that securing Premier League safety in early April would have given Newcastle a headstart in being able to decide on transfer priorities/targets at such an early stage, rather than having to wait to see which division they would be in.

To now be nine or ten weeks later without a single offer being made, never mind a new face added, is beyond belief.

Whilst fans understand that a lot of factors go into making a transfer actually happen, it seems unthinkable that for example Newcastle wouldn’t at least have instantly put in a bid for Kenedy and tested Chelsea to see whether they are willing to sell a player who is never going to get regular first team football there.

The report does add that Newcastle have been asking clubs about players and had ‘quotations’ back…but at some point, and quickly, you have to take action and agree a quote to fix the roof, before it ends up falling down around you.

The World Cup kicking off was always going to be a landmark for Newcastle fans to be taking stock of new signings made so far, exactly four weeks into the transfer window and compared to the end of last season NUFC are actually weaker, with Slimani and Kenedy going back to their clubs and Gamez & Haidara released.

The squad regrouping for pre-season on Monday 2 July will be a massive landmark and surely it is unthinkable that there won’t be significant transfer activity by that point, isn’t it?


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