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Newcastle United chiefs are understood to be ready to offer Rafa Benitez the contract extension he wants - providing he is prepared to wait for certain requests.

The mood on Tyneside remains sceptical within the club's fanbase and a range of protests from the Magpie Group have been planned for the next two months.

But Benitez's future is one thing that could at least be salvaged from the club's depressing start to the new season.

(Image: Getty Images)

Benitez is keen to have more financial power at St James' Park but also wants to make changes at the club's Academy and wants a better training ground.

The Sunday Sun has learned that all three of those conditions could be met between over a five-year period - which would be the course of the initial contract offered to Benitez back in June.

However, talks have taken place since then and there has been a healthy dialogue between managing director Lee Charnley and Benitez in the meantime.

Benitez indicated as much at his weekly Press conference on Friday but fans have been cautious about fresh suggestions he is ready to stay on at United.

(Image: Getty Images Europe)

Personal terms are not the issue for Benitez and United are prepared to give him the salary agreed back in the summer.

Indeed, Benitez will want to see Ashley loosen the purse strings in the next transfer window with January potentially an acid test of relations between the Spaniard and the club's top brass.

It remains to be seen how much Newcastle will spend in the winter window, but the club will spend November whittling down a short-list of targets - and we understand that a clutch of strikers around Europe have been checked out in the last two or three weeks.

Ashley was again in the crowd at St Mary's Stadium yesterday as he attended his fifth game in a row.

His return to the scene at Newcastle is understood to be down to his own personal desire to improve the relationship between himself and Benitez, Charnley and the squad in general.

Ashley was disappointed that things turned toxic behind the scenes in the summer when the players were involved in a bonus but feels that the tension has eased since the club's pizza summit in Ponteland.