When Rafa Benitez broke his wedding anniversary to sit down with Tammy Abraham at St George’s Park in May, all seemed well with the world of Newcastle United.
The manager had received the assurances he needed from owner Mike Ashley to go out and do his summer business. Benitez knew that Newcastle would be working on a budget and didn’t expect £30million signings.
But, what he did want was to be backed when he identified a cheap player who was key to the team. Abraham was one such player, Willy Caballero another — but both slipped through Benitez’s fingers after delays in negotiations.