Everton boss Benitez eyeing transfer raid on ex-club Newcastle

Newly named Everton boss Rafael Benitez has set his sights on former club Newcastle for reinforcements ahead of next season, according to reports.

Rafa arrives

The main focus point on the blue half of Merseyside over the last couple of weeks has of course been the position on the club’s bench.

This comes with Carlo Ancelotti having left the Toffees high and dry early last month, in departing Goodison Park after just 18 months in charge, for a return to Real Madrid.

The Everton hierarchy, in turn, were left with a tough task in replacing their decorated boss, with a whole host of tacticians, in the wake of Ancelotti’s exit, having been tipped to take up the Blues’ reins.

In the end, though, despite a considerable backlash on the part of the club’s fans, Farhad Moshiri and co. opted to move for Rafael Benitez, with the Spaniard having put pen to paper on a three-year deal back on Merseyside:

Our new manager. pic.twitter.com/1FulLthzyF

— Everton (@Everton) June 30, 2021

ASM eyed

Benitez’s Everton appointment of course marks a return to England for the 61-year-old, who has spent previous spells in charge of all of Liverpool, Chelsea and Newcastle United.

And, if the latest word doing the rounds in the media this weekend is anything to go by, then the Spanish tactician now risks the wrath of the fanbase of one of these three clubs.

As per a report from the Mirror, Benitez has set his sights on the signature of Newcastle wide-man Allan Saint-Maximin.

The news may come as something of a surprise, with the ex-Napoli boss having previously been against ASM’s signing, during his own time on the bench at St. James’ Park.

In the case that Carlo Ancelotti sanctions a Real Madrid swoop for Richarlison, though (a seemingly increasingly likely possibility), then ‘sources close to Benitez’s camp say Saint-Maximin will be a target’.

A £50 million proposal, in turn, is touted.

Rafa Benitez risks wrath of Newcastle fans with Everton transfer pursuithttps://t.co/OL8bRdtqcx pic.twitter.com/0NgPrEv5So

— Mirror Football (@MirrorFootball) July 10, 2021

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Premier League table

#	Team	MP	D	P
1	Leeds United	0	0	0
2	Manchester City	0	0	0
3	Manchester United	0	0	0
4	West Ham United	0	0	0
5	Everton FC	0	0	0
6	Southampton FC	0	0	0
7	Chelsea London	0	0	0
8	Arsenal London	0	0	0
9	Newcastle United	0	0	0
10	Leicester City	0	0	0
11	Liverpool FC	0	0	0
12	Aston Villa	0	0	0
13	Tottenham Hotspur	0	0	0
14	Wolverhampton Wanderers	0	0	0
15	Crystal Palace	0	0	0
16	Norwich City	0	0	0
17	Watford FC	0	0	0
18	Burnley FC	0	0	0
19	Brighton & Hove Albion	0	0	0
20	Brentford FC	0	0	0

Player	Team	Goals
Kane, Harry	Tottenham Hotspur London FC	23
Salah, Mohamed	Liverpool FC	22
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United FC	17
Son, Heung Min	Tottenham Hotspur London FC	17
Bamford, Patrick	Leeds United FC	17
Calvert-Lewin, Dominic	Everton Liverpool FC	16
Vardy, Jamie	Leicester City FC	15
Watkins, Ollie	Aston Villa Birmingham FC	14
Gundogan, Ilkay	Manchester City FC	13
Lacazette, Alexandre	Arsenal London FC	13
Wilson, Callum	Newcastle United FC	12
Ings, Danny	Southampton FC	12
Wood, Chris	Burnley FC	12
Iheanacho, Kelechi	Leicester City FC	12
Rashford, Marcus	Manchester United FC	11
Mane, Sadio	Liverpool FC	11
Pereira, Matheus	West Bromwich Albion	11
Bale, Gareth	Tottenham Hotspur London FC	11
Zaha, Wilfried	Crystal Palace London FC	11
Sterling, Raheem	Manchester City FC	10

Player	Team	Red Cards	Yellow Cards
McGinn, John	Aston Villa Birmingham FC	0	12
Gallagher, Conor	West Bromwich Albion	0	11
Maguire, Harry	Manchester United FC	0	11
Phillips, Kalvin	Leeds United FC	0	10
Hojbjerg, Pierre	Tottenham Hotspur London FC	0	9
Milivojevic, Luka	Crystal Palace London FC	1	8
Lundstram, John	Sheffield United FC	1	8
Luiz, Douglas	Aston Villa Birmingham FC	0	8
Holgate, Mason	Everton Liverpool FC	0	9
Bissouma, Yves	Brighton & Hove Albion FC	1	8
Soucek, Tomas	West Ham United London FC	1	7
Shaw, Luke	Manchester United FC	0	8
Xhaka, Granit	Arsenal London FC	1	7
Bellerin, Hector	Arsenal London FC	0	8
Andersen, Joachim	Fulham FC	1	7
Egan, John	Sheffield United FC	1	7
Hayden, Isaac	Newcastle United FC	0	8
Dallas, Stuart	Leeds United FC	0	7
McGoldrick, David	Sheffield United FC	0	7
Reid, Bobby	Fulham FC	0	7

Player	Team	Assists
Kane, Harry	Tottenham Hotspur London FC	14
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United FC	12
De Bruyne, Kevin	Manchester City FC	11
Son, Heung Min	Tottenham Hotspur London FC	10
Grealish, Jack	Aston Villa Birmingham FC	10
Rashford, Marcus	Manchester United FC	9
Raphinha	Leeds United FC	9
Vardy, Jamie	Leicester City FC	8
Mane, Sadio	Liverpool FC	8
Harrison, Jack	Leeds United FC	8
Werner, Timo	Chelsea London FC	8
Gross, Pascal	Brighton & Hove Albion FC	8
Cresswell, Aaron	West Ham United London FC	8
Pereira, Matheus	West Bromwich Albion	7
Sterling, Raheem	Manchester City FC	7
Firmino, Roberto	Liverpool FC	7
Ward-Prowse, James	Southampton FC	7
Eze, Eberechi	Crystal Palace London FC	7
Alexander-Arnold, Trent	Liverpool FC	7
Robertson, Andrew	Liverpool FC	7