LoveItIfWeBeatU

Even if people were thick enough to think Rafa was the problem for not signing a new contract, how do those people justify Mike Ashley's refusal to let the club upgrade the training ground, academy and stadium (funded from the club's own money)? That needs to be done regardless of who the manager is. Make do and mend is not a strategy for advancement.

Rafa Benitez isn't the only manager out there capable of keeping Newcastle in the Premier League. We'll appoint someone else, tread water and Ashley will wonder why he ever bothered with a manager who wanted progress. I've said this before but I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he sacks him a few weeks into the season. He clearly has no intention of selling the club so what's his motivating for keeping a non-compliant dissenter? Maybe Rafa isn't the only manager who can keep NUFC in the Premiership but I certainly don't expect Ashley to identify a manager with the caliber for the job and then persuade said manager to join.

So the path Mike Ashley has chosen is don't do anything Rafa wants to improve NUFC, Rafa leaves at the end of his contract, the morale collapses, players want to leave, fans give up, NUFC are relegated, Ashley thinks he can buy a team to win the Championship (like promotion is guaranteed) regardless of which manager he employs, etc. This coming season may be a struggle but it will be nothing compared to the seasons which follow.

We've got too many keepers as it is. I imagine Krul wants to be first choice somewhere as he has barely played for 2 seasons.

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/newcastle-united-news-transfers-live-14911591 Bit of a come down from Barcelona.

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/newcastle-united-news-transfers-live-14911591 No doubt Porto will be hoping NUFC cave in and accept less money. With the Premiership transfer window closing before Portugal's, Porto can afford to wait.

24 days until the 9th of August when the transfer window closes for Premiership clubs. To do: - Isaac Hayden handed in a transfer request so NUFC need to sell him and replace him. Ideally sell Henri Saivet, Rolando Aarons, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Matz Sels, Chancel Mbemba, Achraf Lazaar, Jack Colback, etc. Buy a right back to compete with Yedlin. Buy a left back to compete with Dummett. Buy a striker. Buy a number 10. Completely restock the under 23s squad pool. That's a big list for a short amount of time. Players can be sold to foreign leagues after August the 9th.

The fact that he is versatile makes him more difficult to replace. He's a centre midfielder who can cover across the whole defence. That's one of the reasons Rafa bought him in the first place. We're already needing at least a left back, right back and centre back when Mbemba leaves.

I doubt NUFC decided the release fee. More likely a stipulation of signing that the fee was only break even/small profit amount so Merino wouldn't be priced out of an escape.

Worrying thing is after the Premiership transfer window closes others are still open so players can still be sold abroad. I can see Porto trying their luck by continuing to low ball NUFC for Mbemba. They'll assume NUFC would rather sell for a lower fee so the money can be used while the Premiership transfer window is still open.

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/mikel-merino-reveals-quit-newcastle-14901508

https://www.nufc.co.uk/news/latest-news/mikel-merino-joins-real-sociedad That explains why he chose Real Sociedad over the other clubs.

At worst NUFC must break even on this deal (taking into account transfer fee, signing fee and agent fee) otherwise there will have been no point signing him. NUFC knew about the release clause so they'll have known the figures involved to make a profit/break even before he even joined. Pretty much the same Spanish teams were in for him when he was leaving Dortmund. NUFC 'won' the transfer battle for his signature.

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rafa-benitez-explains-reason-mikel-14896728 Of the 4 clubs who were interested in him, Real Betis finished 6th, Sevilla finished 7th, Real Sociedad (where Merino is going) finished 13th and Athletic Bilbao finished 16th.

Kane only signed a new six year deal with Spurs a month ago so he obviously doesn't want to leave (he'd have been very aware that his name had come up as a potential Real Madrid target). He'd probably cost £200m+ to buy. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/44416749

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/newcastle-united-news-transfers-live-14882554 Tell Porto where to go. €8-10m can't be beyond the reach of Porto. They're in the Champions League every season and sell players they've bought on the cheap for huge fees.

Monitoring? He's a free agent. If a club is interested they should talk to him.

Was it all upfront? All the clubs who want to buy our players never have the money (apart from Premiership clubs).

They'll be emptying money jars and searching down the back of the sofa for coins. £10m will be a lot of money for them.

How long does it take to do a transfer? The mad dash on transfer deadline day shows a transfer can be done quickly when required. The shorter window just means less time for the clubs, players and agents to dick around. Want a transfer? Well get on with it.

Good, hope he is the only one. Only loan? I imagine Rafa will be keen to make use of the loan market.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/ng-interactive/2018/jul/03/david-squires-on-the-world-cup-last-16-drama-so-far https://www.theguardian.com/football/ng-interactive/2018/jul/06/david-squires-on-england-dark-arts-and-their-world-cup-campaign

It would use up one of our two loans available from Premiership clubs. Obviously we wouldn't be able to loan anyone else off Chelsea either.

With Merino's advisor insisting on a low release clause there was never a long term prospect of him staying. Any scenario where he performed well would result in another club activating his clause.

Atsu has been playing with a knee issue which required injections. He's had an operation on the knee and says the NUFC fans will see the real him now. Let's see how he does before we write him off.