Former Newcastle hero Shay Given has advised his former club’s owner Mike Ashley to allow manager Rafa Benitez to invest heavily on developing the squad this summer.
In only his first full season in charge of the Magpies, Benitez led the team back to the Premier League, clinching the Championship title in the process. He will however need to bolster his side in order for the Magpies to prosper in the Premier League next season.
Given said, “There’s talk of them having X amount of pounds to spend in the summer and a lot of players coming in. Mangala has been linked with a move to Newcastle and I think it will be an interesting summer up there.
“It will be interesting to see if Mike Ashley backs Benitez and they go heavy in the transfer market because they need to strengthen and to stay in the Premier League.”
The Magpies have been linked with the signatures of a number of players. In light of the club being linked with the signature of former Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina, Given has said that the goalkeeping department is one in which the club is strong as it boasts the likes of Karl Darlow,TimKrul, Rob Eliott and Matz Sels.
He continued: “Pepe Reina has got a relationship with Rafa Benitez, so you can see the link there. But Newcastle have got four or five goalkeepers who can play in the Premier League.
“It will be interesting to see if anything happens and it will be interesting to see what happens at Newcastle, personally. They are my old club and I spent a lot of time there.”
