Rafael Benítez has said there is “no chance” of Newcastle selling Jonjo Shelvey to Fulham or anyone else during the impending transfer window.

It has been suggested that Claudio Ranieri is keen to transport Shelvey to Craven Cottage with Tom Cairney – a player admired by Benítez – moving in the opposite direction but that idea has now been quashed.

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Newcastle’s manager shook his head when asked whether he would consider selling Shelvey, scheduled to return from injury at Watford on Saturday. “No, no chance,” said Benítez, breaking a self-imposed vow of silence regarding transfer activity. “Jonjo is an important player for us. Him and Ki Sung-yueng [absent at the Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates with South Korea] can technically pass the ball well and keep it, they give confidence to the rest of the team. I hope Jonjo will be as important to us for the rest of the season as he was last year.”

Although Benítez declined to discuss most transfer activity he did make one other exception to explain his goalkeeping situation. His words will disappoint the Championship leaders, Leeds United, who are keen to sign Karl Darlow, currently competing with Freddie Woodman as first-choice understudy to Martin Dubravka at St James’ Park.

“I’ve decided not to talk about the transfer market … but we are not selling players,” Benítez said. “There is only Rob Elliot [the fourth-choice goalkeeper] in the market and that’s because we have too many goalkeepers.”

After last Saturday’s 0-0 draw at home to Fulham the Spaniard sparked headlines with a declaration it would be “a miracle” if Newcastle finished above the bottom three and he was not softening that stance.

“Yeah,” he said, when asked whether he stood by his comments. “I have had the conversation with the players and they do understand what is going on. We have to be really concentrated and focused every game. We cannot make mistakes. If we make mistakes we can lose against anyone … Do I have confidence we can do it [stay up]? Yes. But to do it will be because everything is right. It will be a miracle.”