Newcastle United does not pay players high wages. Currently, the highest paid player is Jonjo Shelvey with 70k a week, but that could change if Newcastle United bring on a player that they recently took on loan.
Nabil Bentaleb. He hasn’t been the solid player we know he can be, but Newcastle are looking into bringing him in on a permanent transfer for a reported fee of around 8.6m pounds. The fee? Small time. The wage? Also reported to potentially be in the 80k a week range.
This would knock Jonjo Shelvey off his perch as well as add another player to the list of overpaid Newcastle United players chilling on the bench. The club already pays Yoshinori Muto around 54k a week, and he’s yet to be able to convince Steve Bruce of his ability to start.
Bryan’s Take:
I’m not confident Newcastle will actually make this move, knowing how stingy Mike Ashley is with players. However, if the deal were to actually happen, I’d be infuriated that Nabil Bentaleb was given a lucrative contract while Matty Longstaff continues to wait for a deal that is truly worth what he’s able to give the club. The wage of 80k a week is more than double what Longstaff is looking for, and he plays better football, and more often.
The club’s mistake with Yoshinori Muto was the player’s style has not fit the mold they’ve been looking for. That’s unfortunate for Muto as it’s left him on the bench for both Rafa Benitez and Steve Bruce. Bentaleb is surplus to what the club already has available in both Matty and Sean Longstaff. His expected wage is way too high for the club to even consider him unless they planned on making him the bona fide midfield starter, which just won’t happen.
If the club make this deal, then it would be an excruciatingly worrying sign that their priorities are not where they should be. Matty needs to be the number one priority as the club faces drastically reduced transfer funds. Bentaleb should be sent back to where he came from.