IT is a deal that has finally broken Newcastle United’s 14-year-old transfer record and addressed the club’s long-term creative inadequacies in midfield. Just as importantly, though, Miguel Almiron’s £20.7m move from Atlanta United also marks a significant shift in the balance of power at St James’ Park. Rafael Benitez is back in the box seat.

“He is a player who Rafa has wanted for a year, and I appreciate he has had to wait longer than he would have liked,” said Lee Charnley, in a statement released to Newcastle’s official website yesterday afternoon. “I would like to thank Rafa for his patience in waiting for a player he has coveted for so long.” In other words, ‘We got it wrong’.

Benitez put Almiron’s name forward as his key January target at the end of last year, but the initial response from Charnley and Mike Ashley was far from positive. They didn’t think he was worth the $25m Atlanta were demanding, let alone the £60,000-a-week that would be needed in wages. An initial bid of £16m was rejected, and Ashley thought that would be that. Time for Rafa to turn to the next page of his wanted list.

The Northern Echo:

In the past, Benitez has done exactly that, but this time, he refused to consider alternatives. It was Almiron or nothing, and while his refusal to discuss transfer matters in the last few weeks was interpreted as a sign of unhappiness, it was actually part of his bargaining plan. In this transfer window, Benitez was not going to play Newcastle’s game.

That put Ashley and Charnley in a difficult position. Not only was there the threat of relegation to consider, but there was also a good chance Benitez could walk at the end of the season, plunging any hopes of long-term stability into chaos.

Who would blink first? The answer came on Tuesday night, with Atlanta revealing they had accepted an improved offer. Ashley, the arch negotiator, had been backed into a corner and felt compelled to pay a fee he had initially considered too high.

Does that mean Benitez will sign a new contract now? Not necessarily. The Spaniard is notoriously hard to read, and Almiron’s arrival, along with a loan deal for Antonio Barreca, does not address some of the other chronic weaknesses in the Newcastle squad. His long-term managerial demands also go way beyond the limits of the current transfer window.

However, after a succession of disappointments, Benitez has finally triumphed in a transfer battle. Given Ashley’s notorious intransigence, that is probably his biggest success as Newcastle boss so far.