Newcastle United will have a meeting to discuss their transfer budget for the January window this week, as part of an effort to persuade manager Rafael Benitez to remain in charge beyond the end of the season.

Benitez will make a series of requests when he sits down with managing director Lee Charnley, who has been urged to find out what the Spaniard feels he needs by owner Mike Ashley.

Ashley attended his first Newcastle game for almost 18 months at the weekend and witnessed a dire 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace in London, in which their lack of firepower in attack was made blatantly clear.

Although Ashley still feels Benitez has not shown enough appreciation of the financial situation at St James’ Park, frequently complaining about a lack of ambition in the transfer market, he remains keen for him to stay on as manager.

Benitez, who has argued he is yet to see proof of that desire to keep him, will not agree to sign a new contract until he has heard how much money he has to spend.

Benitez is popular with the Newcastle players credit: reuters

However, he did admit after the game at Selhurst Park that it was encouraging Ashley had chosen to attend. He hopes it is a sign the billionaire is willing to reengage after failing to find a buyer, despite putting the club up for sale 12 months ago.

Significantly, though, it is not just how much money is available that is important to Benitez, it is also whether he will be allowed to spend it as he sees fit.

Tension has built up over the last 18 months because Benitez’s targets have not been secured, with the suspicion deals have been allowed to fall through because those above him have deliberately dawdled during negotiations.

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The club, as has been the case throughout Ashley’s 11-year reign, would prefer to focus on signing young players with potential and a resale value. Benitez, though, has always argued they also need more experience in the squad in order to be suitably equipped to survive another relegation battle.

The meeting will also be attended by Newcastle’s chief scout, Steve Nickson – who has already discussed potential targets with Benitez - as well as European scout Paul Baker and general scout Mick Tait.

Newcastle were reluctant to back Benitez in the summer as they wanted him to sign an extension to a contract that expires in June next year.

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Ashley’s view was that there was no point signing players on long-term deals if the manager who brought them to the North East was not going to commit his own long-term future to the project.

That led to the imposition of a sell-to-buy policy that left Newcastle more than £20 million in profit when the window closed at the start of August.

Critics have argued Ashley’s stance was an act of self-harm as it deprived Newcastle of the same sort of investment enjoyed by the other Premier League clubs looking to survive this season.