Journalist Chris Waugh’s Q&A on the Chronicle website today was an interesting read. A few pieces of information have shed some light on what has been going on in the last couple of months.
It is believed that we have made “dozens” of enquiries for players this summer, but have yet to actually make a bid for a player. That would explain why we’ve been linked with so many signings this summer already.
The reason behind why we haven’t made a cash offer yet seem to stem from how the club is run. Pretty similar to the pattern to last year, no bids will be made until the lump sum of £40m-50m will arrive in the club’s bank account next month from the Premier League.
Such a penny-pinching approach is no surprise from the current owner. Promises to Rafa over transfer funds have been broken time and time again, and it seems that despite the manager having a range of targets lined up, he is having to hold fire so that the club don’t extend themselves too much with their investment in the squad.
It seems likely that Benitez will be given a similar budget to last summer. £40m does not go very far in this day and age, and while they can be increased by the sales of the likes of Aleksandar Mitrovic, the boss has his hands tied behind his back in trying to improve this squad.
I don’t believe we’ll see us break our 13-year old transfer record to sign a new top-class striker. More likely we’ll have to scratch around to find a new goalscorer, and we may have to rely on Rafa’s excellent contacts and scouting to find a hidden gem.
Currently, it’s hard to be too optimistic about the team’s transfer dealings. Things may pick up in the last six weeks of the window like they did last year, but it seems apparent that the club’s return to the Premier League has had little or no effect on Ashley’s attitude to transfers.
With Waugh also revealing that the owner is likely to stay for at least the “mid-term” with no new takeover bids on the horizon, it’s not looking particularly hopeful at the moment.