Benitez is right to plan major Newcastle summer clearout to take club forward

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Rafa Benitez is lining up a major summer clearout at Newcastle United this summer, according to the Sunday People, 24/3, page 48.

Benitez has not been able to draw upon much in the way of investment by Mike Ashley in recent years, which has limited his ability to overhaul the Magpies squad and push the club forward.

But the report claims that Jonjo Shelvey, Mo Diame, Issac Hayden, Joselu, Kieran Clark, Jack Colback and Rob Eliott could all be sold this summer, while loanees Kenedy and Antonio Barreca are not expected to be at the club next season either.

Benitez must hope that the transfer fees and the wages freed up can be used to bring in a higher quality of player to shunt the club away from the threat of relegation trouble, season in and season out.

The Spaniard has largely been left to work with the squad that got him out of the Championship, but the likes of Miguel Almiron and Sean Longstaff offer a glimpse at a brighter future and a more aggressive gameplan.

But that requires a higher quality of player and offloading some existing talent is needed to free up the space in the squad – as well as the funds – to bring them in.

If Benitez gets his targets, he can set his sights on the top half of the table once more, but Ashley must give him the freedom to reshape his squad and replace the outgoing players.