Ayoze Perez says he is open to offers this summer - and the timing of a big-money bid could not be more pertinent amid the discord between Rafa Benitez and the club’s hierarchy.

The forward, you see, is exactly the model of player owner Mike Ashley wants his manager to buy: young and with sell-on value.

Newcastle paid Tenerife just £1.5million for Perez five years ago and now, aged 25, he would command a fee in the region of £25m. That is what Ashley likes.

Ayoze Perez's first hat-trick for Newcastle was enough to defeat Southampton on Saturday

Newcastle's No 17 Perez put the home side ahead with a low angled shot on 27 minutes

Perez put his fingers to his ears as he celebrated scoring the opening goal in front of his fans

Benitez, though, wants to spend money as he sees fit, such as the £15m it would take to sign West Brom loanee Salomon Rondon, who turns 30 this year.

If the boss is to remain then a compromise has to be reached. He also wants a commitment to more ambitious wages in excess of £100,000 per week.

But just as important as recruitment is retention, and keeping Perez at St James’ Park is imperative, for the Spaniard is in the form of his life after this magnificent hat-trick against Southampton. He knows that, too, and he has done nothing to deter would-be suitors.

’In the summer there are going to be options,’ he said. ‘That means I have done something well.

‘I can hear what is coming for me, what they offer for me and that’s it, but it doesn’t mean I am going to leave 100 per cent.

’It is going to be a difficult decision. It depends on a lot of things. It has been five great years and I cannot thank Newcastle enough for what they have done for me.’

Newcastle went 2-0 up after the half-hour when Perez slid in to finish ahead of Ryan Bertrand

That certainly sounds like a parting gesture, and it would be a shame were he to spend his best years elsewhere after half a decade of development on Tyneside.

Benitez, too, is beginning to sound more like a man headed for the exit door. Having kept his counsel in recent weeks when pressed on his future, he is now in political overdrive. He cut an agitated figure at the weekend despite the victory.

‘The teams in seventh, eighth and ninth spend £100m and pay £100,000-a-week,’ he began. ‘So what do we want to do? Do we want to compete in this range, or do we want to survive? That is what we have to decide.

‘Everything is about money. If you sign a player like Richarlison for £45m, then you have to pay a certain amount in wages. The way that we are, we have to be competing against Everton, but they are competing to be seventh and to go to Europe.

‘If they are paying £140,000-a-week in wages, how can you compete with them and attract players if you do not do the same?’

They played the Spanish hit La Bamba inside St James’ after full-time as Benitez and Perez soaked up the adulation.

It will be music to the ears of the Toon Army should the pair still be topping the Gallowgate hit parade come next season.