Times journalist George Caulkin has delivered a worrying update on contract talks between Newcastle and Rafa Benitez.
He was responding to a fan who asked him how the talks were going amid all the talk being centred around the potential takeover.
And Caulkin said that the failure to get a deal done with Benitez before the takeover news broke has made the ongoing talks “tricky”.
Caulkin said that while it was “Difficult to give an update when there hasn’t been a resolution”, “the failure to reach an agreement so far makes things tricky now. They’re still trying to get him to stay but so much is in the air.”
Caulkin made the claim on his personal Twitter page on Tuesday evening.
The really cynical among the Newcastle fans will see the latest takeover talks as a smoke and mirrors job to divert attention away from the talks with Benitez.
Caulkin claims that the failure to get a deal done has now made things tricker between Newcastle and Benitez, and with so much in the air it’s surely tough for Benitez to commit himself to the club.
If the takeover evaporates and its only legacy is driving an even bigger wedge between Newcastle and Benitez, it would be a disaster.