Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez wants three to four new signings in the next 11 days
Toon manager says that the takeover talks will not distract his January targets.
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RAFA BENITEZ has told Newcastle he wants three to four signings in the next 11 days.
The Toon boss says the takeover talk will not be a distraction over his January targets.
Benitez future at Newcastle United has been in doubt over the past three weeks with the takeover from Amanda Staveley becoming uncertain.
When Benitez was questioned about his commitment to remain at St James' Park long-term he said: “My future is tomorrow against Manchester City."
"I will not do it [reconsider] before the game at Manchester City. Football is football – everything can change in one minute.”
“My future is Manchester City and after that Chelsea and then Burnley and Crystal Palace and so on.”
The question however still remains on whether Benitez will be able to strengthen his squad whilst the takeover process continues.
“We have some targets and some names,” he said. “We are trying to progress.”
“When I was talking with Mike Ashley he told me that the takeover wouldn’t go through."
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“I have known this for three weeks. There’s been a lot of speculation about the takeover but he told me it was not going to happen.”
“Mike said clearly they [Newcastle’s board] will try to do the best they can to bring the players we are looking for,” Benítez said. “The conversation was positive. Now we need to see the players here."
"We have to believe we can do what we need to do right up to 31 January. The message was really positive, so we will now see where we are at the end of the window."
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“They have the names. We have three or four positions we want to improve. We have to be sure we can get our targets. We have to know the realities of the Premier League.
"It’s not the same Premier League as two years ago – we have to be able to compete with those teams who are spending money.”
“For me, the main thing is to stay in the Premier League, If that happens the future will be bright. I don’t know if anything is close but we have the green light to bring in players. It will be a red light when we get to the end of the transfer window but it’s a green light now.”
The 57-year-old currently has 18 months left on his contract with the Magpies which includes a clause of a £6m compensation fee if he was to resign or be poached by another club before entering the final 12 months of the deal.
As Newcastle take on Manchester City at the Etihad this afternoon, the transfer and takeover saga continues.