Newcastle to spend big to stay in the big time
Marc Fox
It must be a sign of modern football when the players celebrating their club’s promotion into the Premier League are already being marked out as insufficiently capable of making the step up next season.
Pre-season favourites Newcastle United secured their widely anticipated promotion out of the second tier of English football last night courtesy of a nervy 4-1 win over Preston, ending a season-long stay in the Championship at the first time of asking.
But before the dust had settled, the discussion in the football-centric north-east of the country had focused on the players that would need to be ditched to allow the Magpies to retain their Premier League status next year.
Alan Shearer, former captain and, briefly, manager of Newcastle when they were relegated from the top flight in 2008/09, was quick to highlight the need to bolster the current playing squad.
"You can't stand still," Shearer told BBC Sport. "You can't be loyal and give all the players that have got the team promoted a chance. You've got to go out and buy new players.
"People realise the team needs improving to get to where they want to be and that's got to be the top half of the Premier League.
"Now it's about where Newcastle want to be: do they want to get up to the Premier League and be in the bottom three or four fighting against relegation, or do they want to have a go at it?"
Supporters' thoughts also inevitably turned to the amounts of money owner Mike Ashley might have to provide manager Rafa Benitez to give the club the best chance of avoiding another relegation.
Indeed, would the much-desired Benitez even stay at the club next season?
The Spaniard spent over £50 million last summer after relegation, including splurging on the likes of Scotland international Matt Richie and striker Dwight Gayle.
Gayle has scored 22 goals on his way to being nominated in the PFA team of the season alongside defender Jamaal Lascelles and England midfielder Jonjo Shelvey.
But Benitez has notably refused to commit to being at the helm of the club next season, and the Champions League-winning manager turned down another opportunity to do so last night amid the celebrations at a freezing St. James' Park.
Part of that disharmony with Ashley is the extent of Newcastle's transfer business during January - of lack thereof.
Benitez was desperate to sign a winger and a central midfielder during the winter transfer window but ended January with no new additions to his squad, giving him plenty of reason to hesitate to offer Newcastle's large fan base any bold promises about the 2017/18 season.
Local media are reporting that Benitez wants Ashley to agree to sign a minimum of eight new players to support their bid to stay in the Premier League.
Apart from Richie, Gayle, Shelvey and the developing Aleksandar Mitrovic, it seems as though everyone else's long-term future at the desperate club is under threat.
And while there won't be a shortage of players that would crave the chance to play for such a well-known club - after all, Benitez convinced both Gayle and Richie to drop out of the Premier League to join Newcastle last summer - can Ashley dip into the club's finances sufficiently to provide the manager with the assurances he needs to commit his future?
Given the club's positive transfer dealings in the past 12 months and mushrooming TV revenue-related funds from playing in the Premier League, not to mention the amounts lavished by rivals, Newcastle fans are expecting Benitez to spend big.
As former Newcastle midfielder Rob Lee told Sky Sports: "Newcastle have to spend the majority of the money they get on [new] players.
"Mike Ashley has backed him [Benitez] with £10 million players but you have to look at £20 million and £30 million players now to bolster that squad and even get you into mid-table."
