WHEN is “every last penny” nowhere near as much as you thought it would be? When you’ve been promised it by Mike Ashley. As Rafael Benitez has learned to his cost this summer, what the Newcastle United owner seems to be suggesting and what he actually means can often be two totally different things.

When Ashley promised Benitez “every last penny that the club generates through promotion, player sales and other means” at the end of last season, it was widely interpreted as a pledge of up to £100m. In fact, it has turned out to be no such thing.

Newcastle’s net spend this summer currently stands at around £23m, a sum that is broadly commensurate with the first tranche of Premier League television money once wages, agents fees and loan payments are also taken into account.

Ashley will claim it is all he can afford in order to keep the books balanced. Newcastle supporters, and no doubt Benitez too, will point to the fact that Huddersfield and Brighton have spent more than £10m more than the Magpies’ net spend and rightly be fearful about what lies in store in the next nine months.

As things stand, Newcastle’s transfer activity has not been sufficient to transform a good Championship side into a team that can be confident about its ability to remain in the top-flight.

A succession of targets have fallen through the net, with Benitez especially unhappy about the failure to land Willy Caballero, Tammy Abraham and Eliaquim Mangala in the opening weeks of the window. That set alarm bells ringing, and things have only got worse since.

Newcastle have made five permanent additions this summer, and to be fair to Ashley and Lee Charnley, the £27.7m spent on Florian Lejeune, Christian Atsu and Jacob Murphy is hardly an inconsequential sum.

Lejeune looked good before an injury curtailed his involvement on the opening weekend of the season, while Murphy showcased his talent during this summer’s European Under-21 Championships. Once he beds in, he should be a valuable asset.

Beyond that, though, the pickings have been fairly scant. Joselu’s £5m price tag reflects his struggles during his season with Stoke City, while Javier Manquillo is another player with plenty to prove after his performances with Sunderland last season. Mikel Merino showed flashes of promise during last weekend’s defeat at Huddersfield, but the Spanish youngster would not even have featured on Benitez’s wanted list had the Magpies manager been able to land the likes of Fabian Delph or Lucas Leiva.

Ideally, Benitez would like to make another four or five additions before the transfer window closes, but first he will have to trim a bloated squad. The likes of Tim Krul, Grant Hanley, Chancel Mbemba, Jack Colback and Henri Saivet have been available for sale all summer, but Newcastle are hardly having to fight off suitors for any of their fringe players. Colback, with his £70,000-a-week wages, will be extremely hard to move on. The same is true of Hanley, who is sitting on four more years of his inexplicably-generous five-year deal.

If no one leaves before Thursday night, it will be difficult for Newcastle to make significant additions. If they can force players out, they might be able to move on some of their targets, although pushing through deals late in the window has hardly been Charnley’s forte in the past.

Kenedy remains a leading target, although Chelsea’s midfield problems mean they remain reluctant to loan the Brazilian midfielder. Newcastle have also expressed an interest in Sampdoria midfielder Dennis Praet, but the Belgian’s £12m price tag could take him out of the Magpies’ reach.

Talk of a last-ditch loan move for Andy Carroll highlights the extent of Newcastle’s desperation. A window that started with a large amount of optimism is ending with an all-too-familiar sense of despondency.


INS AND OUTS


INS

Javier Manquillo (Atletico Madrid) £4.2m

Florian Lejeune (Eibar) £8.7m

Josef Yarney (Everton) Free

Mikel Merino (Borussia Dortmund) Loan

Jacob Murphy (Norwich) £12.5m

Christian Atsu (Chelsea) £6.5m

Joselu (Stoke) £5m


OUTS

Matz Sels (Anderlecht) Loan

Vurnon Anita (Leeds) Released

Alex Gilliead (Bradford) Loan

Haris Vuckic (FC Twente) Released

Sammy Amoebi (Bolton) Released

Yoan Gouffran (Goztepe) Released

Florian Thauvin (Marseille) £10m

Daryl Murphy (Notts Forest) £2m

Adam Armstrong (Bolton) Loan

Ivan Toney (Wigan) Loan