Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez has hinted that he might not have signed Javier Manquillo if he had more money to spend.

The Spaniard has had limited resources since taking over at St James’ Park and he bought the former Liverpool defender to shore up his defence earlier.

Speaking to the Chronicle, he said: “When you sign some players, it depends on the money you have and the necessity of the position. If you sign a striker, and it can only be one striker [who you need], then you have to spend some money. If you have to sign a full-back when you know you already have one, then you cannot spend massive money. Could we sign better players Maybe we could go to the market and spend £15million, £20m or £40m on a full-back, but we cannot so we have to manage what we have, and I’m quite happy with both of them.”

However, the player has been quite disappointing so far and he has had his fair share of criticism from the fans this year.

Manquillo was highly rated during his time at Atletico Madrid but his career has gone downhill since.

It will be interesting to see if he can rediscover his form and confidence with Newcastle United anytime soon.

The fans will want him replaced in the summer but Benitez believes that the 24-year-old is doing well and he is happy with the full back’s efforts so far.

These comments will certainly frustrate the Newcastle fans who are already tired of Mike Ashley’s lack of spending over the years.

It will be interesting to see if the Newcastle owner backs his manager in the market this summer.