This summer has been not so warm for Rafa Benitez, as he has failed to land all of his top transfer targets, so far. With just one signing to enhance the squad that was promoted to the Premier League, it seems that Rafa is pushing quite hard for the Jacob Murphy deal to happen.
I came across this article which summarises the Newcastle manager’s mood as well as introducing to the Newcastle fan base the ‘ruthless’ Stuart Webber in the good old Newcastle Chronicle
It basically says that pulling off the Murphy deal might be the most important thing for Newcastle this summer, with frustrations on the rise as Lee Charney and Mike Ashley have failed to make deals happen.
The article is quite interesting because it digs a bit into Stuart Webber’s methods, as seen by “outsiders” – we have already “known” him for a while. They describe him as a ruthless negotiator and highlight that he orchestrated moves for Benik Afobe, Raheem Sterling and David Wagner, earlier in his career.
The article also states that it`s “all up to Mr. Charney”, who is Newcastle’s negotiating counterpart to Webber and also that a move for Murphy will be fruitless unless Newcastle pay up – according to the article Norwich are holding out for about £16 million.
It sounds like a tough battle is going on across the negotiating table between Stuart Webber and Mr. Charney.
I have the feeling that this deal will end up happening, but on our terms. A lot of pressure is already on Newcastle for not being able to bring in the players they want and we are in no rush. Mr. Webber apparently has a great deck of cards, and he also knows how to play the game.
OTBC