Newcastle United left-back Paul Dummett has urged the club to tie down Rafael Benitez on a longer contract amidst interest from West Ham.
Benitez has emerged a cult figure at Newcastle over the last two seasons as he steered the club back into the Premier League in his first full campaign and managed to avoid relegation back to the Championship this time around.
The Spaniard has been left frustrated by Newcastle’s parsimony in the transfer market and many feel his ability to keep the club floating in the Premier League deserves more credit as he has done it on a shoestring budget.
Benitez is seeking assurances over his transfer kitty this summer before agreeing to continue at the club and Newcastle fans are worried amidst interest from West Ham.
Dummett has voiced the Newcastle squad’s opinion on the manager and stressed that everyone at the club, including the fans, are desperate to see the Spaniard continue at St. James’ Park.
relatedNewsStory
He urged the club to make sure Benitez signs a new deal and continues to be in charge.
Dummett told BBC Newcastle when asked about Benitez: “I’ve heard a lot of players say the same thing – they want the manager to stay.
“The fans, the whole city love the manager.
"You can hear that in the stands and how much they were signing for him, wanting him to stay.”
The defender continued: “He has one year left [on the contract].
“Hopefully, the club can tie him down for a longer period of time and he can build the club and build the team to make sure we are stable in the premier League and we can try to push on a bit.”
