Rafa Benitez is expected to have his first sit down meeting with owner Mike Ashley on Thursday to thrash out the terms of a new contract to remain as Newcastle United manager.

The Spaniard has already set out what he wants to happen this summer in terms of player recruitment and how large a budget he wants to spend to managing director Lee Charnley, but has not had an opportunity to explain his vision to Ashley in person.

Benitez is seeking assurances that Ashley shares his sense of ambition to turn Newcastle into a top ten side in the Premier League, with the aim to steadily improve the quality of the squad each season so that they can eventually compete to play in Europe again.

The former Liverpool, Chelsea and Real Madrid manager also wants to discover if he will have the freedom to sign players over the age of 26 if they are available and the club can afford them, particularly as he would like to turn Salomon Rondon’s loan move from WBA into a permanent switch this summer, even though the striker will turn 30 next season.

Ashley and Benitez have had a tense relationship for much of the last two seasons, with Benitez complaining he had not been given the financial support he had been promised when he agreed to stay on as manager after relegation to the Championship in 2016.