Rafa Benitez will leave Newcastle United at the end of the season unless the club fulfil his transfer demands, according to reports.
The Magpies have still not signed a single player in the January transfer window, despite Benitez allegedly demanding two new arrivals at St James’ Park before the end of the month.
He is believed to have given the club a list of targets before the end of last year, but no deals have been agreed despite there being just over a week left until the window closes.
And, according to the Telegraph, Benitez is so frustrated over Newcastle’s lack of transfer business he will consider leaving the club come the end of the season.
He is alleged to have reached ‘breaking point’, and though the 58-year-old would prefer to remain in charge of the Magpies, he feels he has been ignored for too long apropos transfers.
Newcastle’s squad is still made up of a large portion of the players who guided them out of the Championship in 2017, and two of their biggest signings before the start of this season were loans; Kenedy and Salomon Rondon joined from Chelsea and West Brom respectively.
Money was spent on permanent deals for Martin Dubravka, Fabian Schar, Yoshinori Muto and Federico Fernandez, but questions have been raised as Newcastle still ended the summer window with more than £20million worth of profit given the sale of Aleksandar Mitrovic to Fulham.
Earlier this month, former Manchester United and England star Rio Ferdinand defended Newcastle owner Mike Ashley over his lack of investment in the club given he is looking to sell, while beIN SPORTS pundit Richard Keys made the bizarre suggestion that Benitez should fund signings using his own money.