Neil Ashton: In Rafael Benitez Newcastle owner Mike Ashley might have just found the man to make Toon a Premier League powerhouse once again
SOON enough, Rafa Benitez will have all the bargaining power he needs.
Newcastle’s manager is almost there, a few games from taking the Geordie nation back to the Premier League at the first attempt.
When promotion, possibly as champions, is finally confirmed, Benitez will have fulfilled his brief.
In return he will get the backing of Mike Ashley to give it a go next season, with a sizeable transfer budget in place to bridge the gap to the Premier League.
His Christmas pow-wow with Ashley paid off, a meeting of minds as they straightened out a few long-standing issues.
Ashley is the money man, but Benitez has gained his trust to make it happen again at Newcastle.
It has been a long time since anyone felt that way about them.
After a career with Valencia, Liverpool, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Napoli and Inter Milan, the Spaniard remains an ambitious man.
Benitez, a deeply political animal, has done his bit for Ashley.
He is determined to realise Newcastle’s potential, to establish them as a major force in English football after gaining a little bit of momentum in the Championship.
There are some old scores to settle, with his ongoing feud with Jose Mourinho threatening to resurface when they meet again next season.
Benitez would dearly love to put one over on him, among others. To do it he will need to make signings, with plans already taking shape in the background to improve the playing staff.
Benitez will get his wish by signing a couple of older heads, experienced Premier League players to help with the transition back to the top flight.
Jermain Defoe, who will be leaving Sunderland on a free transfer when they are relegated, is one of his main targets.
To sign him from their great North East rivals will certainly take some persuasion.
Benitez, with his natural enthusiasm for the game and his determination to make a splash next season, believes he can do it.
Defoe, 34, who is also coveted by Crystal Palace, is aware of Newcastle’s interest. Beyond that they are looking to the future again, with a brief to bring in young, emerging talent over the summer.
The scouting network has been mobilised over the last few months, with staff sent to watch players all over Europe as Benitez prepares for life back in the top tier.
He is not hanging about.
Benitez has two new full-backs, a top-class central defender, two central midfielders, two wide men plus a striker on his wishlist.
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It means there will be some big changes to personnel in the summer, with players being moved on ahead of their return to the Premier League.
Christian Atsu, who has made more substitute appearances than starts, will return to Chelsea.
Others, such as Jack Colback, Jesus Gamez and Grant Hanley, will be vulnerable.
There will be quite a purge when promotion is assured, with Benitez determined to make major changes to the squad.
He has earned the right after staying loyal to Newcastle when they were relegated just two months after his arrival.
He has captured the imagination of the place, a manager of standing and stature after a career with some of Europe’s leading clubs.
To his credit, he took soundings from some influential voices about the different pace to life as a Championship manager.
He structured the squad accordingly, taking them to the top of this cluttered league and closing in on promotion.
It is the just the beginning for Benitez, a building block as he plans for a new era in the North East.
After that, Rafa’s revolution can start to take shape.
It's Shaw silly
JOSE MOURINHO’S meeting with Luke Shaw and his parents in 2014 lasted less than 15 minutes before they all cut it short.
That conflab, set up to discuss Shaw’s potential move from Southampton to Chelsea, ended badly between all parties.
Three years later and they are still struggling to put it in the past.
Pep's puzzler
IT has not gone unnoticed at Manchester City that Pep Guardiola keeps bringing his short-term future into the public domain.
Pep signed a three-year contract at the Etihad but he raised the issue of whether he would still be at the club yet again after City’s 2-1 defeat at Chelsea on Wednesday.
Although the club claim all is calm around the Catalan super-coach, he is under almost intolerable pressure to deliver Champions League football next season.
Guardiola, 46, wants some more heavy-duty financial backing in the summer for another overhaul to this ageing City squad.
But there are clearly doubts creeping in about his recruitment.
The body language of City officials has also noticeably changed of late, with far more reluctance to indulge the coach in everything he says or does.
Cats out of the bag
DAVID MOYES is already planning for the Championship after scouts were briefed about the Black Cats’ summer transfer targets.
Sunderland’s boss wants a British core in the team to fight their way back into the Premier League at the first attempt.
Moyes, under the cosh for inappropriate comments to a BBC reporter, will need a good start next term.
Walsh in raw deal
STEVE WALSH’S role at Everton is under further scrutiny as they prepare for a busy transfer market.
The wheeler-dealer, head-hunted from Leicester, has an uneasy relationship with Ronald Koeman.
The Toffees boss, critical of Walsh during the recruitment of Manchester United’s Morgan Schneiderlin in January, will test his patience again this summer.
Bren's no Hoop
WE will never know if Celtic are good enough to finish in the top six of the Premier League.
Brendan Rodgers made the claim after they sealed the Scottish title last weekend.
English clubs would never let the Hoops in. So, assuming Rodgers stays at Celtic Park, he will have to settle for a one-horse race again.