'That definitely frustrated Rafa' - Bellamy hints where Newcastle went wrong in summer

By Danny Wright

Craig Bellamy has suggested that a lack of early summer business is what saw Newcastle fail to strengthen to the degree they would have hoped during the transfer window.

Rafa Benitez has made it very clear that he has been left frustrated by the lack of business he was able to pull off since last season ended with only six players brought into the first-team despite others being moved on.

Christian Atsu, Florian Lejeune, Jacob Murphy, Javier Manquillo, Mikel Merino and Joselu had all been brought in by Championship title holders Newcastle, but many fear that may not be enough to ensure them of Premier League survival come next May.

Owner Mike Ashley has confessed that there is a lack of funds at St. James' Park, but ex-Newcastle forward Bellamy, 38, believes that if they were to have got their business done earlier, they wouldn't have been faced with high transfer fees in the last couple of weeks.

"We've talked about Mike Ashley now for a while, I liked his interview where he came out and explained. The way the money is now, to compete with that, is very difficult. I don't think they did their business early enough, and their targets probably ended up being a bit too expensive, and that definitely frustrated Rafa Benitez," said Bellamy, as quoted on the Sky Sports website.

Ashley promised Benitez full financial backing at the end of last season but the all the summer has proved is that there isn't enough money in the bank for the club to make serious strides from where they were in the Championship.

In other Newcastle news, a report has detailed how Benitez was forced to turn away multiple offers for this first-team defender.

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