Benitez’s Newcastle future likely rests on whether Ashley backs him over Almiron

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Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez will leave the club in the summer if he is not backed in this month’s transfer market, according to the Telegraph.

They report that Benitez wants to remain with the Magpies but feels it will be impossible to carry on if he is once more undermined in the market.

Benitez has been demanding improvements to his squad for over a year now and reportedly wanted two signings this month, after drawing up a host of targets, in various price ranges.

But with no movement forthcoming, Benitez has apparently reached his breaking point; or is trying to play an extreme game of bluff to try and force some movement from Mike Ashley.

Iranian international defender Milad Mohammadi, Lyon hotshot Martin Terrier and Juventus prospect Moise Kean are all named as transfer targets for the Magpies, as they move towards the foreign loan market for reinforcements.

But the Mirror report that Atlanta playmaker Miguel Almiron remains Benitez’s top target and he is the player on whom Mike Ashley needs to back his manager.

Almiron represents a gamble, but a much-needed attempt to add creativity and excitement to a side that is still largely composed from players who got Newcastle out of the Championship.

Signing Almiron would be such a lift – and a break from Ashley’s habits of the past – that it might just convince Benitez to stay on its own. Failure to do so could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.