Benitez will quit Newcastle in summer unless club sign two new players this month
Toon boss Benitez ready to walk away from Newcastle at the end of the season if Mike Ashley does not deliver the signings he wants in January transfer window
RAFA BENITEZ will quit Newcastle this summer if the club fails to sign the two players he wants this month, it has been claimed.
Benitez is desperate for owner Mike Ashley to deliver the players he told them to sign during the transfer window to help the club in their fight to avoid relegation.
But with just over a week to go until the window closes there seems little likelihood of Newcastle splashing out the money on new players.
And the report that would be the final straw for frustrated manager Benitez in terms of his future on Tyneside.
They say that if the club fail to back him with investment by the end of this month then he will snub any attempts they make to offer him a new contract.
And that would see him quit his position as Newcastle manager at the end of the season whether they remain in the Premier League or not.
Benitez, 58, is out of contract when the current campaign comes to an end and though he is happy with life in the North-East, there has to be some backing from Ashley and the club board for him to stay in charge.
During December he is believed to have given Ashley a list of players he said the club should go after, in differing categories from cheap to expensive.
But so far the club have failed to sign anybody, even though they are at risk of relegation and dropping down from the riches of the Premier League.
Atlanta United star Miguel Almiron was one player Benitez wanted, but Newcastle do not want to go anywhere near the £30million the MLS club have valued him at.
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It now appears that if Newcastle do any business at all over the remaining eight days of the transfer window it will only be for loans.
Lyon's French under-21 international forward Martin Terrier is one player who the club have been interested in, but the club do not want to let him leave in a temporary deal.